Legal Identity and Land Rights Essential for Women Farmers
Soumya Swaminathan, a leading scientist and chairperson of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), has called for urgent policy changes to legally recognise women as farmers. Speaking at the Villars Institute Summit 2026, she emphasised that women, who now constitute a majority of the agricultural workforce, remain legally invisible due to lack of land ownership and exclusion from institutional credit and government schemes.
Swaminathan, recently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, noted that over half of the agricultural workforce is female, but only about 15% of agricultural land is registered in women's names. As men migrate to urban centres, rural women bear an increasing operational burden without formal rights.
Feminisation of Agriculture and Systemic Barriers
Agriculture remains the backbone of India's economy, employing 43% of the workforce according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 2025. Women farmers contribute nearly 80% of the labour in rural agriculture. However, lack of legal identity as farmers limits their access to bank loans, agricultural equipment, water rights, and subsidies.
"Formal titles are the only way for women to independently access bank loans, agricultural equipment, water rights, and other subsidies," Swaminathan asserted. She stressed that empowering women with knowledge and legal rights boosts crop yields, protects biodiversity, and improves community nutrition.
International Year of the Woman Farmer and Policy Push
The United Nations has declared the International Year of the Woman Farmer, bringing global attention to women's roles in agrifood systems. The MSSRF is actively urging state and national governments to enact legislation or policy shifts that legally recognise women as farmers.
In Maharashtra, the government is developing the Women Farmers' Entitlements Bill, with MSSRF as its lead partner. Swaminathan called for a change in the stereotypical image of a farmer: "We often picture a man working in a field when we think of a farmer. It is time we change that image. A woman is a farmer too."
Double Burden of Systemic Barriers and Climate Change
Swaminathan highlighted that women farmers face a double burden of navigating systemic barriers and the challenges posed by climate change. She urged states to truly recognise their labour and resilience by strengthening their rights and access to schemes. "This recognition, this sensitisation, will happen only through policy change," she added.
The push coincides with global efforts to address gender disparities in agriculture. According to the United Nations, women farmers include all women working in agrifood systems across value chains, from producers and peasants to processors and entrepreneurs.
