Source: Business Standard
Context: A report by grain commerce platform Arya.ag, titled “Her Harvest 2026: The Hidden Cost of Women’s Invisible Work in Indian Agriculture”, finds that unequal access to land, finance and technology is leaving a large part of India’s farm potential untapped.
Key Highlights
| Indicator | Key Figure |
|---|---|
| Wage gap | Women earn ₹82 per ₹100 earned by men |
| Wage difference | 20–30% lower for similar work |
| Share of farmed area operated by women | 11.72% |
| Farm productivity gap | Women-run farms are 24% less productive |
| Estimated annual output loss | ₹1.2–2 lakh crore |
| Share of farm economy affected | 2.5–4% of ₹48.7 lakh crore |
| Working women in agriculture | 64.4% |
| Working women in agriculture (2017–18) | 57% |
| Rural working women in agriculture | 76.9% |
| Women agricultural workers as unpaid helpers | 50.5% |
| Men agricultural workers as unpaid helpers | 21.7% |
| UN International Year | 2026 – International Year of the Woman Farmer |
The Four Recommendations
- Recognise women as farmers irrespective of land ownership, and publish gender-disaggregated data on credit, procurement and FPO membership
- Expand financial access through collateral-light credit, warehouse receipts, and women-held Kisan Credit Cards
- Route drones, advisory services and market technology directly through women-run institutions
- Build women-led FPOs as permanent market institutions, not pilot projects
The Concept to Understand
- Land ownership decides who is recognised as a farmer. Recognition decides who gets credit, extension services and procurement.
- So the cycle runs:
- Not recognised as a farmer → no formal credit → cannot buy inputs or pay for storage → must sell at harvest when prices are lowest (distress sale) → low income → no assets, no land → still not recognised as a farmer
- Men migrate to cities, women increasingly run the farms. But the person doing the work is not the person on the record.
- Women-run farms produce less not because women farm less efficiently, but because they farm with fewer resources. The problem is administrative, not agricultural.
The Three Rs
The report frames its solution around resources, recognition and returns:
- Equal access to resources could raise yields on women-run farms by 20 to 30 per cent
- Higher harvest income for women could raise household incomes by 20 to 30 per cent
