Even though women are considered among the key architects of India’s agricultural economy, their contribution to the sector has not been effectively portrayed, which also reflects the lack of opportunities for them in the agricultural sector.
For these silent architects of India’s rural economy, there is a need for a major role change in which not only their contribution to the sector should be recognised, but the importance of household work should also be recognised. Better avenues for raising capital, more focused government policies are other measures that can further increase their contribution to the agricultural economy.
During a panel discussion – Women: The silent architects of the rural economy – at Hindu BusinessLine’s Agri & Commodity Summit 2026, there was a consensus on recognizing the role of women in household work.
care economy
Sarbini Bose, CoE lead for gender equality at Pradhan, highlighted that the importance of the care economy has not been highlighted as much as it should be. Maintaining a home is an important aspect of a prosperous economy.
“Women in the age group of 18-30 years in rural India work at home and in the fields. But they do not have much of a role in influencing decisions. The income is not coming into their accounts. We do not talk much about the care economy. The government has to invest in the care economy. For example, there should be crèches at the panchayat level. The safety of young girls is important. These young girls are not able to attend employment and skills courses because of safety. Here For example, women’s hostels are important, all-women buses in Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Kalyani Singh, a rural entrepreneur from the Better Life Farming Alliance, emphasized that encouraging a stronger role for women in the agricultural sector should start with their greater participation in rural finance. They should be able to access cheap finance.
She said, “Finance is very important if women farmers are to be encouraged. They do not have access to many ways to raise finance as they generally do not have land assets in their names. Therefore, their work should be properly valued, both household work and farm work. They should be paid according to this work.”
share and recognize
Chhavi Rajawat, former sarpanch of Soda village (Rajasthan), supported Sarbani and Kalyani’s emphasis on recognizing the role of care economy in the country’s economy and more importantly the agriculture sector.
“Women do not get the right value for their work. So, there is a need to step back. How do we bring about change? Will men give ownership of land or property to women? Can we get joint ownership of land property? These are important questions that need to be addressed. The government is focusing its attention, which is commendable. But a lot more needs to be done,” she said.
Sanjeev Kanwar, Managing Director, Yara South Asia and Country Head, Yara India, emphasized on recognition and fair share in agricultural labour.
“We have about 10 million women farmers in India and about 50-70 per cent do not have land ownership in their name, which means if you do not own the land, there is no collateral, and they cannot get access to cheap credit. Therefore, credit access hinders development. The other part is that 65-70 per cent of farm workers are women and most of them are not paid. If they are paid, they are paid less than male workers. Not paid as much,” he pointed out.
loan for fpo
Bose pointed out that women-led farmer producer organizations (FPOs) do not get easy access to credit because they do not have land in their names. There is a need to strengthen the FPO loan system keeping women entrepreneurs in mind.
Singh agrees that women-led FPOs should be trained in agricultural mechanization so that they can take it to the women of the region. Moreover, these women FPOs must have financial means through cheap and easy loans to purchase larger machines, which they can lend to women farmers at very affordable rates.
Kanwar made some very relevant comments about the lack of women leadership in the agricultural economy.
“In agricultural universities, there are about 40-50 per cent female students and they are scoring better grades than male students. However, by the time they come to the corporate sector (leadership roles), there are only 6-8 per cent women who have graduated from agriculture and are in senior corporate roles,” she said.
Another thing Kanwar emphasized is that civil society in the agriculture sector is largely male dominated.
He asserted, “In India, we have very good ideas, but implementation is lacking. I think India needs to move towards public private partnerships. We should not just depend on the government. The government and the private sector need to work as a team. The budget is there. Its implementation needs to be better. Of course, there should be strict controls and conditions.”
During the panel discussion, Bose said that there is very little data available on various aspects of the agricultural economy.
“Another important issue is the lack of data. Digital data is not available. We need to know how much the income of women and men has increased. Data on infrastructure in rural India such as the number of crèches in panchayats, or how many panchayats have 100 per cent sanitation,” he said.
Published on February 27, 2026
