Analyse the reasons for increasing feminization of Indian agriculture. Also discuss the concerns associated with this trend.
Analyse the reasons for increasing feminization of Indian agriculture. Also discuss the concerns associated with this trend.
Extent:
- As per Agriculture Census 2015-16, female operational holdings increased to 14.0 percent in 2015-16 against and 12.8 percent in 2010-11. This indicates rising participation of females in management and/or operation of agricultural holdings in the country, also termed as feminization of agriculture.
Reasons:
- Rural to urban migration of male members: With male out-migration, women have additionally taken on the role of providing for their households on a daily basis, since remittances are irregular. This means that they now have to take care of their own farming and also work as agricultural wage labourers.
- Women Tendency to accept to low pay: Women are more willing to accept low-paid irregular work, are easy to hire and fire, are thought to be docile and hardworking, and certain jobs are typified as women’s work such as picking tea.
- Growing Uncertainities in agriculture: It has led to a shift of male members to non-farm activities and pushed female members to perform agricultural and allied activities.
Concerns in Feminization of Agriculture:
- Wage inequality: Women in general are offered lower wages for agriculture labour, especially in the informal and private sector.
- Low land and asset ownership: Women involved in agriculture still lag behind in terms of land and asset ownership, even when acting as primary cultivators. This is largely due to patriarchal social norms and limited awareness about their property rights. Women are also not recognized as farmers in Indian policies.
- Lack of supportive infrastructure: Technological interventions and infrastructural facilities in agriculture, in general, are not designed with women farmers in mind.
- No decision making power: Enhanced responsibility has not translated into decision-making powers over important issues such crop selection, division of duties, marketing etc.
- Limited to menial work: Mechanization of agriculture has resulted in confinement of women to labour intensive and menial roles such as winnowing, harvesting, sowing seeds and rearing livestock.
- Illiteracy: Women workers in agriculture suffer from high illiteracy rate and drop-out of schools and have little awareness about the existing schemes, benefits, rights, etc. As a result of this female population engaged in agriculture has poor economic as well social growth.
Conclusion:
- The issues surmounting the feminization of agriculture need to be fixed as soon as possible to ensure both economic and social justice for the Indian women community.
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