As per 2011 Census, about 65% women workforce was engaged in agriculture compared to mere 44% among men
With further widening gender gap, the number of hours spent by women farmers in Gujarat working in fields has increased, while their wages have decreased. The opposite is, however, true for male farmers, according to new study funded by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and Australian Research Council (ARC).
The study — “Farmers of Future: Challenges of Feminization of Agriculture in India” — conducted by Itishree Patnaik, Assistant Professor at Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR), found that while men have moved out of agriculture as main workers and carry on as only marginal workers, the role of women in agriculture has increased in both main work and marginal work.
Concluded earlier this year, the study surveyed 16 villages in Patan, Valsad, Rajkot and Panchmahal districts. These districts, according to the author, were selected for their distinct and different cropping patterns and socio-economic profiles, with special emphasis to district-wise proportions of Scheduled Tribes. Comparing the last three Census (1991, 2001 and 2011), Patnaik said, a decline in the share of both male and female participation in agriculture has been witnessed across the country. However, the rate of decline was much higher for male farmers as compared to female.
As per the 2011 Census, of the total working force in Gujarat, about 65 per cent of women were employed in the agriculture sector compared to a mere 44 per cent of men. “Gujarat has a total of 12.03 lakh women cultivators and 31.89 lakh agriculture labourers. Thus making a total of over 43.92 lakh women in Gujarat working on the farms,” Patnaik said.
As per the 2011 Census, Patnaik said that only 10 per cent of women in Gujarat owned land. However, during the house-listing exercise of 3,225 houses in the four surveyed districts, it was found that only three per cent of women owned land. Out of this three per cent, 1.3 per cent did not know that the land ownership was under their names.
“The analysis shows that basic social and economic protection is missing for a large portion of the rural population because of which women, as the cheapest and weakest labour in households, are falling back on agriculture. Whereas, men are moving out of the farms altogether. To change the situation, it is essential to put the focus on women in the overall development plans and policies of agriculture,” Patnaik told The Indian Express.
The report further states that representation of women agricultural labour in Gujarat is lower compared to men.
“This implies, in Gujarat women farmers working on their farms is higher as compared to men. However, women lack the mobility to work outside, unlike men. The work participation in crop production shows that more women are engaged with strenuous and time-consuming works as compared to men. Tasks like weeding, cleaning of farms, storing and livestock rearing are completely done by women. Male members hardly help the women in household chores. It is a matter of concern whether the labour time they spend and the incomes they earn match,” the report states.
While the study confirms the role of women in agriculture, it raises questions on the type of feminisation of agriculture.
As per the report, with agriculture no longer considered a profitable occupation, the involvement of women as cultivators might not be financially empowering. This type of feminisation of agriculture implies that women are now taking up the economic activities that men have let go of. Such involvement occurs under duress, and could be termed as “feminisation out of compulsion” or “feminisation of agrarian distress”, the report states.
The report adds that the awareness of women with regards to agricultural services and extension is minimal. “Social norms, cast culture and purdah system restricts women from participating in any kind of households decision in Gujarat. They are hardly exposed to the market and practice any extension services. This emphasizes that their role as labours is important but not as decision makers in farm related activities. It has also been occurring within a deepening crisis of gender relations. Thus, efforts to enhance women’s agency without addressing these broader rural crises will achieve only limited outcomes,” it states.