TV Jayan

The Survey has recommended earmarking 30 per cent of Budget allocation for agriculture to women farmers as more and more men are migrating to urban areas for employment, leaving the former to tend the farms.

“Globally, there is empirical evidence that women have a decisive role in ensuring food security and preserving local agro-bio-diversity,” the Survey said.

As per Census 2011, out of total female main workers, 55 per cent were agricultural labourers and 24 per cent were cultivators.

However, only 12.8 per cent of the operational holdings were owned by women, which reflect the gender disparity in ownership of landholdings in agriculture, it said.

Welcoming the move, Kavitha Kuruganti of Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch, said “lack of recognition and identity itself had been a major problem. However, it makes the mistake of assuming that operational holdings are equal to ownership of holdings, which is not the case,” she said. While it talks about entitlements of women farmers being key to driving productivity, women do not and are not able to access agriculture credit, crop insurance, marketing support, or disaster compensation on par with male farmers, Kuruganti said. “Our analysis of gender shows only 10 per cent of outlays are going to women farmers currently,” she said.

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