WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE

WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE

INTRODUCTION

        The significances and struggles of women in the agricultural sector are not prioritised. Women have always played a vital role in agriculture, even though their contributions are often not recognized. In many cultures, women are responsible for the majority of the tasks involved in growing food and raising livestock.

        Globally, women represent 43% of the agricultural labour force, yet their access to land, capital, technology, and agricultural extension services remains far below that of men. In addition, women often face greater obstacles in accessing credit, marketing their produce, and obtaining new skills and technology.

INSIGHTS

        • Regardless of the many challenges faced by women in agriculture, they have made significant progress in recent years. In some countries, women now own and operate a majority of the small farms and some of the large farms. In addition, more women are entering the field of agricultural extension, providing critical services to farmers.

        • In certain regions, they are the ones who plant the seeds, tend the crops and harvest the fruits and vegetables. In addition to their traditional roles, women are now also taking on more modern roles in agriculture, such as operating machinery and managing businesses.

SIGNIFICANCES

• Women are of vital importance to rural economies. Rearing poultry and small livestock and growing food crops, they are responsible for some 60% to 80% of food production in developing countries.

• Evidence indicates that if these women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%, raising total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 %. In turn, this would reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17%.

• In many farming communities, women are the main custodians of knowledge on crop varieties. In some regions of sub-Saharan Africa, women may cultivate as many as 120 different plants alongside the cash crops that are managed by men.

STRUGGLES

• In developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, women typically work 12 to 13 hours per week more than men; yet, women’s contributions are often ‘invisible’ and unpaid.

• The 97 countries assessed by the FAO, female farmers only received 5% of all agricultural extension services. Worldwide, only 15% of those providing these services are women. Just 10% of total aid provided for agriculture, forestry and fishing goes to women.

MAJOR FACTORS HINDERING WOMEN’S GROWTH

1.LAND - Land is the most important factor that plays a major role in the agricultural growth and production. The women’s small share of holdings may restricts the potential of the agriculture.

• The FAO estimates that women comprise, on average, 43% of the agricultural labour. If they had equal access to productive resources, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30%.

• Due to legal and cultural constraints in land inheritance, ownership and use, less than 20% of land-holders are women. In North Africa and West Asia, women represent fewer than 5% of all agricultural landowners; while across Sub-Saharan Africa, they make up 15%.

2.FINANCE - Despite the role women play in agriculture, they are constrained by their lack of involvement in decision-making and access to finances.

• There was little difference in access in urban and rural India—80.7% of women had deposit accounts in rural India compared to 81.3% of women in the urban districts.

• The landscape for women borrowers is even more challenging. The lack of collateral due to limited access to assets and property impedes their ability to avail loans. In 2017, women accounted for only 7 % of total bank credit compared to 30 % for men.

3.MARKET & SERVICES - The women’s access to markets and services are hindered due to various reasons including lack of awareness, unavailability of services, even menopause and so on.

• Because of the unawareness of proper markets and communication leads inability to purchase or hire extension services that can transform their production, confine their activities, reducing their ability to benefit from liberalization or respond to price signals by shifting into .

STEPS TAKEN

• Now, governments of many nations are stepping up their process towards increasing the women’s shareholding of lands which may increase the production and productivity.

• India, launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) to promote financial inclusion. Since then, over 460 million bank accounts have been opened; 67% of them are in the rural and semi-urban districts, and 56% are owned by women. However, nearly 20% of women in India remain without access to a bank account.

• Establishing community marketing sites along with extension services provided women farmers a secured marketing outlet for food production, associated with a decreased likelihood of a reduction in monthly expenditures on healthcare, child education and transportation.

CONCLUSION

While the contributions of women to agriculture are often undervalued, it is clear that without their hard work and dedication, the agricultural sector would not be able to function. We should be aware about struggles and support the women in every work field. Let us all celebrate this women’s day with our Agro Scribbles.

                                                                                                                   WRITTEN BY,

                                                                                                                  Agriscribles and Team