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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on January 31, 2025

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How can the feminisation of agriculture empower women?

For Preliminary Examination:  Periodic Labour Force Survey, Labour Force Participation rate

For Mains Examination: GS III - Indian Economy

Context:

Women contribute around 63 per cent of the agricultural labour force in India, yet they lack access to key resources such as land ownership, finance, and advanced farming technologies.

Read about:

Labor Force Participation Rates in India

 Periodic Labour Force Survey

Key takeaways:

• The participation of women in India’s workforce has fluctuated over the years. It reached a peak of 40.8% in 2004-05 but subsequently declined. However, since 2017, there has been a reversal of this trend, with female labour force participation (FLPR) witnessing an upward movement, particularly in the post-COVID period.
• The rural FLPR rose from 41.5% in 2022-23 to 47.6% in 2023-24, while the urban FLPR increased from 25.4% to 28% in the same timeframe.
• This surge can be attributed to the economic revival following the easing of pandemic-induced restrictions, which encouraged more women to seek employment. Additionally, economic hardships have compelled many women to enter the workforce to support their households.
• However, the growing presence of women in the workforce, particularly in paid employment, warrants closer analysis. The rise in FLPR has been primarily driven by an increase in self-employment among women, especially in the agricultural sector.
• State-level census data suggests that in regions where female workforce participation has grown, it is largely due to women taking on greater roles in agriculture.
• This trend underscores the limited availability of non-agricultural employment opportunities for rural women, keeping them largely engaged in farming-related activities.

Understanding Feminisation of Agriculture

• The increasing role of women in agriculture is commonly referred to as the feminisation of agriculture. This phenomenon is interpreted in two ways: first, as a rise in the proportion of agricultural work performed by women, including their responsibilities as small-scale cultivators or agricultural laborers.
• Second, it also encompasses women’s ownership, control, and participation in agricultural resources and decision-making processes, such as land ownership, crop selection, and input management.
• Several factors contribute to this shift. Structural changes in the Indian economy have led to a decline in agriculture’s share of GDP, with employment shifting towards the service sector.
• Additionally, rural economic distress has driven men to migrate in search of non-farm jobs, leaving women to take on increased responsibilities in agricultural work.
• Other contributing factors include declining agricultural productivity, rising input costs, climate change-related risks, and limited employment alternatives, which have prompted many rural men to seek livelihoods elsewhere. Consequently, women who remain in villages assume multiple roles, particularly in farming activities.

Gender Disparities in Land Ownership

• Despite their significant role in agriculture, female farmers often remain invisible in official records. The National Commission on Farmers (2005) observed that a growing number of women are engaged in agricultural tasks, with estimates suggesting th