Commission on Farmers (NCF) observed that ‘Agriculture and the rural economy bore
2006).’ The worst hit amongst the impoverished are the agricultural workers and the
rural poor. There has been a consistent decline in the growth of agricultural sector since
1990. It was 4 % per annum in 1980s and now it has declined to less than 2%. Elasticity
of employment also has declined in this sector and during 1993-94 to 1999-2000 jobs in
the farm sector have grew only at 0.03%. Because of these low returns in agriculture,
1
Paper to be presented in National Seminar on Gender & Development in World of Work and Health - with Focus on Women
in the Agrarian Sector, to be held on 19-20 November, 2010 at Bhimtal (Uttrakhand), Organised by: Women Work & Health
Initiative (WWHI), New Delhi In collaboration with Kumaon University (Dept. of Bio-Technology) & SNDT Women’s University,
Church gate, Mumbai.
2
Associate Professor, Department of Economics, PGSR, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai
3
Senior faculty in SNDT College of Arts & SCB College of Commerce & Economics for Women, Mumbai affiliated to SNDT
Women’s University, Mumbai
1
more men are moving out of agriculture putting the future of this sector more than ever
Agriculture is the main employer of women informal workers. 75% of the total female
workforce and 85% of rural women are employed in agriculture as wage workers or
agriculture, few women have direct access to agricultural land affecting their ability to
casualization of workforce also has increased which has deteriorated the quality of
sensitive but the poor illiterate farm women have very little or no access to scientific
advancement and technology to achieve higher productivity, higher profits and more
Women are the backbone of agricultural workforce all over the world. They do the most
tedious and back-breaking tasks in agriculture. Despite the fact that women contribute
more labour to agriculture than men, they get fewer wages than men and land remains
almost solely in male hands. Although women constitute two-thirds of the agriculture
work force, they own less than one-tenth of the agricultural lands. Therefore, very few
agriculture, has the proposition of women working as agricultural labourers. The data
suggest that more than half of women factors were engaged in other capacity of
2
labourers in agriculture in both 1991 and 2001. In contrast, this proportion is less by
more than 10 percent in the case of male workers; they are principally cultivators (i.e.
fetches the least income, as is repeatedly seen from NSS data. Thus women do seem
An attempt was made in the above mentioned study to predict possible impacts of
current and proposed government policies. It was found that most policies described in
the plans and budgets of agriculture and allied sectors do not give positive boosts to
women workers (creating special opportunities for women, designing gender sensitive
policies that ensure equitable infra-household distribution of benefits etc). Thus, surely,
women are being left behind in these policies. The authors found that women are
Even in Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) wage rates are discriminating, very
meager and are calculated on piece rate basis. For example, the wage for digging a one
cubic meter hole is only around Rs.19/-. A couple generally does this work. The man
digs and woman takes the mud and throws it elsewhere. But only one person is paid for
this job. The man gets paid; the women’s labour is free. This practice needs to be
Even otherwise, unequal wages for men and women in agriculture is a regular feature
everywhere. As the farmers cannot reduce the cost of other inputs, they are resorting to
reducing the cost of labour component in cultivation. They are pressurizing the
3
agricultural workers to work more. They are employing women and children for lesser
The study by Nilabja Ghosh (2006) based on nation-wide macro data on Scheduled
Tribe people of India, finds tribal women in India lagging in most indicators of
development. Unfortunately, like the average rural women in India and more so, they
are engaged intensely in primary activities and almost entirely informality and often as
unpaid family workers and worse still, as casual wage laborers who lack any security of
earning. Tribal women known for their deep association with the forests are an
economically active lot but they suffer disproportionately more from illiteracy, poverty
Most of the adivasis have been tenant farmers. With passing of tenancy laws, lands
were handed over to tillers. These tribals thus owned massive lands and lived
peacefully in harmony with nature. Now, land ceiling laws are being relaxed in tribal
areas and hundreds of acres of land are either being leased out or sold to indigenous
and foreign companies. The classic example of this is the Coca Cola factory in Wada
Tehsil of Maharashtra. Land at through away prices, almost free supply of unlimited
water, control over natural resources and huge tax concessions have been gifted to this
factory. Since this land, as in respect of many cases, was in the name of men it was
sold without consulting the women. Thus, thousands of tribal families are being
displaced and the small amounts received by them for their land have been used up,
leaving them with nothing in hand. In these circumstances, women are forced to take
4
loan to even buy food grains, pulses oil etc. which pushes them into the dragnet of the
money lenders and further destitution. Similarly, the overflowing water of Vaitarna River
near Wada Tehsil, which was earlier used by people from nearby villages, has now
been given to the Coca Cola company at a rate of three paisa per liter. It then sells one
liter of bottled Kinsley water at 12 to 15 rupees. Men usually migrate to find work in brick
kilns and women are left behind to protect themselves and look after the aged and the
children. The sad unspoken misery of women’s exploitation in these insecure conditions
As per 2001 census, Adivasis in Maharashtra comprise 8.86 per cent of the state’s
population. The population of Adivasi has increased in Maharashtra by 17.20 per cent
from 1991-2001 with the state ranking third in the country so far as Adivasi population.
According to the 44th round of the National Sample Survey, 14.8 per cent of the Adivasi
in Maharashtra are landless. 43 per cent Adivasi families have land ranging from 0/1 to
4.04 hectares. The average land holding in Adivasi family is 0.98 hectare and most of
this land is dry land of extremely poor quality. The survey also shows that 46 per cent
of rural Adivasi families are self employed of whom 44 percent are engaged as wage
labour. According to the Schedule Areas and scheduled Tribes Commission, the
number of Adivasis below the poverty line in Maharashtra is a massive 90.89 per cent,
the highest proportion of 97.25 per cent being a Gadchiroli district in Vidarbha (Dhawale,
2006). In Thane district most of the adivasis are either marginal or small peasants or
agricultural labourers. Women form a majority of work force. 90 per cent of women are
engaged in agriculture. Additionally, women fetch water and wood for fuel, cook meals,
5
The case of total Scheduled Tribe population in Andhra Pradesh also needs special
mention. The size of this population is 4.2 million. Officially, 33 Scheduled Tribe
communities mainly spread over nine districts. The present economy of tribals in
Andhra Pradesh is a consumption economy with the main occupations being settled
agriculture, Podu (shifting) cultivation and collection of non timber forest produce which
totally comprise 88% of their occupation status. As against the general literacy rate of
44.09, literacy among the tribals it is 17.16 and among tribal women is 8.68 percent
Tribal women who are actively involved in collection and sale of forest produce face
severe exploitation from traders and do not get a fair price for their labour. In Gonduru
village of Vishakhapathanam district, the women were trained for processing and
packaging of tamarind. However, they are prohibited from selling this value-added
product in the open market where they receive a better price, because of the monopoly
give powers and rights over resources to poor tribal women even where it concerns
The joint Forest Management Programme in Andhra Pradesh, launched in 1993, has
incentives like construction of roads, check-dams, etc. the tribals are being drawn into
forming Vana Samrakshana Samithis, which is a prerequisite for giving up their Podu
this, the tribals are not able to cultivate various food crops, particularly the diverse
6
traditional varieties of crops, as most of the land has been converted into plantations
field. Now for their food consumption they are depending on markets. As they do not
have enough purchasing power they are forced to consume less. Tribal women now
get even less food to consume because they have to purchase it from the market for
which they have no money. This is adversely affecting their working capacity and health
An adivasi woman’s relationship with her land is integral to her very role within the
family and ultimately her very being and existence. An adivasi woman is an
exceptionally skilled farmer and nurtures the land, as the source for the crops to feed
the family and or medicinal plants to heal her family as a vital part of nurturing her
family. Adivasi women are traditionally revered for the knowledge and skills, with which
they tend to the land and resources around them in the breeding seeds, harvesting
The World Bank funded projects in the tribal areas are putting pressure for new forms of
economy in these areas and are pushing for constitutional amendments to bring in
so that farmers can grow cash crops and high capital intensive crops. In Visakhapatnam
district, the tribals have rich traditional systems of agriculture, horticulture and vegetable
cultivation which reflect the diversity of crops, the consumption pattern of the economy
and the optimal usage of land and resources with minimum capital and external support.
forestry on to them. In this district, the government has over a period, been trying to shift
the economy of the tribals into new forms of monocultures without forethought to the
hazards that they would be exposing the tribals, especially the women, who have an
important role in the traditional form of agriculture. One of the most fearsome aspects
of this new shift is that due to lack of any information or awareness regarding the skills
required, the seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, the cropping patterns and yields etc. the
tribals in this area will be devastated totally under the influence of macro market forces
on these crops.
marginalization of the weak. The dalits, the backward classes and women entrenched
by poverty are up against the wall of new economic policies that have resulted in
Under the new economic policies of the state, revenues are to be earned from lucrative
sectors like sale of liquor. The ban that was imposed on sale and consumption of liquor
after strong protests from women across the state was lifted by the present government
as it could not overcome the state deficits without income from these important sources.
women who have to work harder, not for a better nutrition and quality of life, but in order
to keep their men swaying in the liquor dens and the state out of troubled waters. The
state is directly responsible for such indirectly negative policies affecting women’s
health. Not only that, when tribal women in Palem village of Visakhapatnam district
refused to allow the liquor mafia to set up its outlets in the tribal villages, they were
8
brutally “punished” for daring to defy the local powers and excise authorities. Their
houses were demolished, they were dragged into illegal custody, tortured physically and
mentally, forced to drink the urine of the men. The police refused to even register the
case filed by these women. Legal suits filed against the excise authorities have led to
constant harassment on the women. This nature of brutality is encouraged by the state
so that women would rather face the hazards of alcoholism than the wrath of the
All the natural resources in the forest (where unfortunately tribals also live) are under
serious threat of privatization in the state under the rationale that industry has the
capacity to invest whereas people and government do not have the resources to do so.
Hence, handing over of forests to mineral, paper, wood based industries would lead to
economic progress of the country as well as improve the incomes of forest dwellers. In
the year 2000 the state government passed a G.O. (No.112) to transfer forest lands to
industries like Reliance and ITC Bhadrachalam through the village institution of Vana
Samrakshana Samithis. Strong protests from the NGO’s and the opposition parties, who
Similarly, in Andhra Pradesh the mineral wealth found in the tribal areas was attempted
to be sold away to private mining industries either by illegally transferring tribal lands or
Constitution) to the tribal people. Mining is one of the important growth engines in the
new reforms package of the government and most of the minerals in Andhra Pradesh
are found in the tribal areas. With all the pretensions of bringing in prosperity to the
9
tribals, the state government passed a resolution to amend the state laws under the
Fifth Schedule of the Constitution where industries would not be hindered by legal
obstacles.
Moreover, the state government is going ahead with its liberalisation policies in these
remote tribal areas by inviting multinationals and Non Resident Indians for taking up
tourism, mining, film, agro-based and other industries in the name of tribal development.
What happens to the tribal women and their health is of no consequence to the
government. This is the gender justice and gender equality situation of Andhra Pradesh
4. Farmer’s Suicide
Agricultural growth has decelerated during the last decade, resulting in the decline in
real per capita incomes in rural India. As a result the nation was in 'an advanced stage
of crisis', the most extreme manifestation of which was the rise in suicide among
farmers. The crisis has been epitomized by farmers’ suicide, particularly in the Vidarbha
region of Maharashtra and also in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and other states. In these
states, a large number of farmers are driven to commit suicide where cash crops face
the vagaries of the market. The National Commission on Farmers, calling for a ‘Suicides
Census’, has estimated that the number of farmer suicides is 30,000 across six states
The Wayanad district of Kerala has attracted the nation’s attention due to the farmer’s suicide
on a large scale. According to media and the peasant organizations, 130 farmers and
agricultural workers had committed suicide in the year 2004 in this small district with a
population of about 8 lakh according to 2001 Census (George, Joes and Krishnaprasad, P.,
10
2006). These suicides, after globalization, were the result of mainly three reasons i) crash of the
prices of agricultural produce, ii) indebtedness, and iii) drought, disease, and depletion of water
resources.
A.V. Yadappanavar (2008) conducted a study in Punjab for calculating the suicide rate
among farmers. Wheat, paddy and cotton are the main crops of the district. Canals are
the main source of irrigation in the district, supplemented by the tube wells. There is a
widespread belief that there has been a spate of cultivator farmers’ suicide in Punjab.
The macro data show that the percentage share of cultivator farmers’ suicides to the
total suicide in the state between 1991- 97 is to the extent of 23 percent. In the same
study, socio-economic data of suicide victims show that majority of them were illiterate
and around 55 percent were in the age group of 31-40. Family in these cases seemed
to have ceased to serve as a forum for sharing of stress and anxieties. Agriculture was
their major source of income. 65 percent of the respondents in the study depended on
agriculture and 30 percent of them served as agricultural labour for their livelihood.
After the demise of their husbands, workload and responsibilities of women increased
tremendously. Daily expenditure was a major problem, and problems were aggravated
after the male member’s death. Arranging marriage of grown up daughters was an
additional problem. Usually the assets were in the names of male household members
and after their suicide non-transfer of assets was another area where women had to
suffer. A debt, which was the major reason for suicides, added to the financial crises of
the household. It was observed that none of the respondents had received any financial
5. Trafficking of women
11
Globalization is usually biased against unskilled workers. Rural women mostly engaged
in unskilled labour have to suffer because their unskilled work is invisible and
unprotected in the work ‘economy’. Their impoverished situation is making them more
vulnerable to a social evil like prostitution. In remote areas the literacy rate of women
belonging to Backward Classes and tribals is not even 4%. Thus it becomes easier for
the procurers and the middlemen to influence or coerce these women and girls into
women easier due to increased mobility on the one hand and increased vulnerability on
the other. Girls and young women living below the poverty line or belonging to the
in rural areas are comparatively more vulnerable to this evil. Education and economic
6. Remedial Measures
Having identified the major issues like insecure profits, increasing cost of inputs,
demand for labour, increasing labour supply etc., SEWA helped agriculture workers to
and income through educating small and marginal farmers on technical skills, methods
of costing and pricing, and the implications and requirements of increasingly liberalized
trade, building linkages with technical research and marketing organizations, collectively
12
activities such as agro-forestry, horticulture, vermi-culture and compost manufacturing.
Following success stories indicate that collectively even asset less women can do
wonders if they get some institutional support (This section is based on the reference -
for inputs and marketing, the small and marginal farmers and agriculture workers in
Mehsana district of Gujrat were slowly losing most of their land and assets. In particular,
excessive irrigation from bore wells dramatically reduced the water table and rendered
the remaining water high in fluoride content. With irrigation becoming expensive and
without dependable rains, many small and marginal farmers were forced to either
migrate or take to casual labour. Women agriculture workers were even harder hit. They
could find no alternative work and often had to walk miles to collect the necessary
SEWA organized the women agriculture workers into a cooperative. They demanded
and eventually received government revenue land. The struggle dragged on for two and
a half years, until finally, with SEWA’s continuous intervention, the revenue and
government revenue wasteland and then only could the revenue wasteland be allotted.
13
Through the cooperative, women systematically planned to make optimum use of the
available land employing a multi-faceted approach. With partnering the local research
station of the Gujarat Agriculture University for technical assistance, they were able to
cropping patterns to enrich the soil. In all activities the cooperative encouraged
Today, the Vanlaxmi cooperative stands as a model for the entire district demonstrating
how the landless poor can successfully implement collective agriculture. Women who
earned just Rs 15 as agricultural day labourers and were never engaged in matters of
yield, sale, expenditure or market, are now recognized as farmers. They meticulously
manage their land, tracking each and every cost. The cooperative has acquired
improved equipment such as a power tiller, thresher and a drip irrigation system. The
plan also ensures full employment for members and the land meets fodder and fuel
needs of the village. As a licensed and authorized seed distributor by the Gujarat State
Seed Corporation, the cooperative also provides timely and reasonably priced quality
seeds not only to its own village but the entire area.
Since the land was allotted on a 15 year lease, the women will have to continue their
battle to secure long term utilization that allows for long term planning and maximum
extremely sandy soil. This has resulted in ravine formation and overall land degradation,
SEWA organized the women agriculture workers/farmers into the Sabarkantha Women
Farmer’s Association. The association, with SEWA’s support, has initiated watershed
In support of its economic interventions, the cooperative also organizes the women into
self help and savings and credit groups and provides the necessary training for skill and
organization capacity building efforts ensure the members’ self-reliance. Finally, the
cooperative has linked up with various government development and welfare schemes
In 1991, the Sukhi dam submerged the land and villages of agriculture workers in the
tribal areas of Pavi Jetpur in Vadodara district of Gujarat. As compensation, they were
given land near the village resettlement sites. Whenever dams are constructed, working
families in different trades and occupations are displaced and need rehabilitation.
complex. Therefore, they require more support and time to once again secure their
15
livelihoods. Traditionally, these women survive through a mix of collecting forest
produce, agriculture, dairying and/or poultry activities. When displaced, at best they
receive only land; resettlement schemes fail to take into account their multifaceted
survival strategy. Even the land itself is often less fertile, rocky, unleveled and far from
the forests on which they depend. The land is not ready for immediate cultivation, yet
SEWA organized the relocated workers into the Sukhi Mahila SEWA Mandal to initiate
economic rehabilitation. Under the leadership of the women agriculture workers, they
initiated land development and installed irrigation facilities. They also started alternative
nurseries, poultry units, animal husbandry, mushroom cultivation and social forestry
initiatives.
In 1999, SEWA Gram Mahila Haat, a state-level apex marketing organization was
middlemen and help members reach markets all over the country to sell their produce.
context specific needs and issues. Also, a holistic and integrated approach to
16
agriculture development must incorporate technical training, introduction of appropriate
In all of its activities, SEWA has found that sustainable development depends on
understanding the elements that fuel poverty and strategically working with women to
address these aspects of their vulnerability through asset building, capacity building,
organizing for collective strength and social protection. Action to strengthen the
economic security of agriculture workers and their families can be best charted through
provided to poor farmers, in particular women, they implement this knowledge in their
The National Research Centre for Women in Agriculture (NRCWA) has been
under different production systems. At the initial stage of the project a package of
instruction was provided regarding what rural women should do to endure health
security, food security, economic security and livelihood security. The ergonomic
knowledge, skill, decision making; economic and social empowerment. The data base
17
on indigenous knowledge has strongly suggested for empowering women with
rural women through their respective thrust of research. Mobilization of self help groups
educational interventions, transfer of technologies, the feasibility trials and the out
economic gain and improving various parameters of quality of life are the reflections of
women’s environment. Empirical evidences have revealed that women have moved
encouraged women to play key role in micro - level planning, designing community
Land rights not only empower women economically but strengthen their ability to
challenge social and political inequalities. The Eleventh Plan promises to carry out a
range of initiatives to enhance women’s land access. It will ensure direct transfers to
them through land reforms, anti poverty programes, and resettlement schemes. It will
include individual or group titles to women in all government land transfers, credit
support to poor women to purchase or lease land, records and legal support for
women’s inheritance rights, incentives and subsidies on women owned land. The group
18
approach to women’s ownership of land and productive assets will be explored and
appropriate linkages will be made with the SHG movement. In case of displacement, a
gender sensitive rehabilitation policy that includes equitable allocation of land to women
will be devised. The Eleventh Plan will also ensure the right of poor, landless, and tribal
women over forest land, commons, and other resources (Approach Paper to 11th Plan).
Gender equality and empowerment is recognized globally as the key element for
progress. It is one of the eight millennium development goals agreed at the millennium
development goals agreed at the millennium summit in New York in 2001. Women are
draw this neglected half into the mainstream and overcome gender discrimination in this
regard. Some suggestions identified for improving the plight of agricultural women
farm women.
help groups. Group action at farm women level by forming Self Held Groups will
19
4. Introduction of women friendly and cost effective appropriate drudgery reducing
technologies for farm work are the need of hour so that they could contribute
women in agriculture. (For example, Equal Remuneration Act has been passed
to provide for payment of equal wages to men and women for the same or similar
nature of work and also for the prevention of discrimination on the ground of sex
against women in the matter of employment. Maternity Benefit Act provides for
Act confers the benefits of security of employment for agricultural workers for
both male and female. National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of
parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. The
73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the constitution of India have provided for
There is a need to make women aware of these acts so that they can feel
empowered.
poverty elimination in rural areas, so that the rural youth is not forced to migrate
to the seemingly greener pastures of urban, live there without their women folk
20
8. Education and economic independence of women will counter their vulnerability
and lead to the recognition and respect of women dignity as that of human being.
elimination would require restructuring social setup, which would give greater
human being.
In the Eleventh Plan, for the first time, women are recognized not just as equal citizens
but as agents of economic and social growth. The approach to gender equity is based
on the recognition that interventions in favour of women must be multi-pronged and they
must: (i) provide women with basic entitlements, (ii) address the reality of globalization
environment free from all forms of violence against women (VAW) – physical, economic,
social, psychological etc., (iv) ensure the participation and adequate representation of
women at the highest and adequate representation of women at the highest policy
levels, particularly in Parliament and State assemblies, and (v) strengthen existing
institutional mechanisms and create new ones for gender main-streaming and effective
policy implementation.
The challenge in the Eleventh Plan is also to improve the availability of agricultural
inputs, credit, marketing facilities, technology, and skill training for the increasing
number of women farmers. Resource pooling and group investment, financial and
infrastructural support will be provided. Women in agriculture will be on the top of the
Eleventh Plan agenda and a two pronged strategy will be adopted (i) ensuring effective
21
and independent land right for women, and (ii) strengthening women’s agricultural
8. References
30, 2004
Accra, 2004
Suicides in the Tribal District of Wayanad, Social Scientist, Vol. 34, No. 7-8, July-
August 2006
Forest Based Industries in Rural India, Economic Times, April 14, 2006
22
9. Mollah, Hannan, (2002), Impact of Globalisation on Agricultural Workers,
10. Reema Nanavati, (2003), Women Agriculture Workers, Seminar, Nov, 2003.
11. Serving Farmers and saving farming: A Draft National Policy for Farmers,
2006.
12. Singh, Jaiver and J.V. Meenakshi, (2004) Understanding the Feminisation
13. Surana, Pawan, (2009) Effect of Globalisation on Human Trafficking and Forced
Rameshwary Pandya, New century Publication, (2008) New Delhi, India, pp 73-
and solution, (Ed.) Dr. Rameshwary Pandya, New century Publication, (2008)
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