Feminisation of Agriculture - Insights

The feminisation of agriculture refers to the measurable increase of women's participation in the agricultural sector, particularly in the developing world. The phenomenon started during the 1960s with increasing shares over time. Since 2017, October 15 is celebrated as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas in India.Economic Survey 2017-18, says that with growing rural to urban migration by men, there is ‘feminisation’ of agriculture sector, with increasing number of women in multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and labourers. We need to celebrate the role of women in agriculture. However, women face challenges in this filed as regards access to land and property rights, entitlements etc. This paper discusses this and other problems such as wage parity, security, etc., in a gender perspective. We call for ‘inclusive transformative agricultural policy’ aimed at gender-specific interventions