“I work as a sugarcane cutter and also cultivate my small land that depends on rain. But I am not recognized as a farmer or agricultural worker. Due to this, I cannot access many government programmes,” said Dwarkatai Waghmare from Beed.
Women farmers from across Maharashtra took center stage at a stakeholder consultation organized by the Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra and MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) on January 23 in Bombaywhere they talked about their daily struggles within the agri-food system.
“Since the 7/12 land extract is not in my name, I am facing several difficulties in cultivating my land. Many women face this problem. Women can do a lot more, but we need recognition and opportunities,” said Vaishali Ghuge from Tuljapur, Dharashiv.
Participants highlighted how the lack of formal recognition as farmers and the absence of land titles in their names severely limit women’s access to credit, institutional loans, water, and a wide range of government programs.
The consultation was chaired by Vikas Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson, MSSRF.
It brought together civil society organizations working with women in agriculture, researchers and officials from animal husbandry departments, cooperatives, the Maharashtra State Rural Livelihood Mission and the Integrated Child Development Services scheme, among others.
“Women contribute immensely to agriculture in Maharashtra, but their work remains unrecognized,” Rastogi said during the consultation.
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“During the birth centenary of Prof MS Swaminathan last year, the Government of Maharashtra declared his birthday as Sustainable Agriculture Day. We have had a series of discussions on the role of women farmers and the need to promote nutritionally diverse and climate resilient crops since then and have also signed an MoU with MSSRF to strengthen sustainable agriculture, nutritional security and gender justice across the state,” he added.
A draft policy document on the rights of women farmers, jointly prepared by Vidhi Legal Center and MSSRF, was presented at the consultation, followed by discussions on grassroots challenges and possible policy and programmatic solutions. Key recommendations of the document include adoption of the National Policy for Farmers (2007) definition of farmer based on the work done, issuance of farmer identity cards to women and creation of a comprehensive database of women farmers.
“The Chief Minister of Maharashtra has greatly supported and encouraged efforts to strengthen the role of women in agriculture,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan. “The State has a long legacy of working to empower women, including in agriculture. However, while women continue to fight for recognition as farmers, their access to credit, institutional loans, water and government schemes remains severely limited. Climate change is further intensifying these challenges, creating a double burden for women farmers who are already navigating systemic barriers,” said Dr Swaminathan.
He referred to Prof. MS Swaminathan’s concept of Biohappiness, which focuses on well-being through harmony between ecological sustainability, human health and social equity. “These conversations are critical to promoting biohappiness by strengthening the role of women farmers, identifying climate-resilient and nutritionally diverse opportunity crops, and other enabling interventions in agricultural systems,” she said.
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The consultation also included comments and observations from N. Ramaswami, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries; Pravin Darade, Principal Secretary, Cooperation and Marketing; Suraj Mandhare, Commissioner (Agriculture), Maharashtra and others.