Soupçon III, In Memoriam Series, IV.iii

                         Soupçon III                                                          In Memoriam Series                                                         IV.iii                                    International Year of the Woman Farmer  

Why is there any need of discussing women farmers? Well, like every other area, in this field, too, women suffer discrimination. Let us understand how. 

To begin with, there is unequal access to land ownership. In India, for instance, the woman as farmer is the plinth of this sector. Yet it is a fact that only 8.3, tops 14, per cent women farmers own the land.

As a result, there is zilch access to institutional credit systems. As it is, even educated, urban women are not exactly  aware of financial tools. Imagine the plight of the rural woman, especially a widow so far never ever even allowed to participate in any financial decisions!

Nor do they know modern technological advances in agricultural technology. Most often, they might not know even the ABC of the distribution process of the agricultural produce, forget issues like branding and/or patenting. 

Hence the need for women in agriculture as an aspect of the current paradigm of inclusive growth! 

Pratima Agnihotri