New Delhi: The National Commission for women is mulling to come up with an advisory for states that would enable them to propose policy changes in aid of women farmers hit by the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision was taken during a virtual consultation under the theme "Women in Agriculture Sector: facilitating a better role”.
The consultation saw a series of sessions covering all areas for intervention in agricultural and rural economy with a special focus on the empowerment of women farmers in India.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma told ETV Bharat that the commission is working on issuing an advisory to the states for policy to aid women farmers in both agriculture and allied sectors, taking into consideration the suggestion made by the stakeholders during the consultation.
She also said that an advisory would be issued to the government in order to facilitate job opportunities for several women migrants who will be deprived of work especially in farming sector. However, policy rethinks is crucial as women migrants made their way home to work in farms.
Held via video conference, the consultation was attended by the officials from the Ministry of women and child development, department of agriculture, NRLM, stakeholders, policy-makers and research organisations, along with representatives from NGOs & others.
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During the consultation, the stakeholders also urged the NCW to issue an advisory to all the states to ensure women get access to credit without any interest or collateral, as many don’t hold land titles and some are sharecroppers.
Another suggestion was made to provide women with job cards under a scheme such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
“The Economic Survey of 2017-18, termed the situation arising out of the growing migration of men from rural to urban areas, as ‘feminisation’ of agriculture sector, resulting in increased number of women assuming multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and agricultural laborers. This requires that in this situation the contribution of women in agricultural sector and the difficulties faced by the women farmers warrants critical analysis”, the commission added.
The consultation was an attempt to highlight all drawbacks, the challenging areas to support productivity and participation of women farmers and the need for gender-friendly policy to push the allied sectors to create empowering avenues for women farmers.
It was also suggested that a universal Public Distribution Scheme (PDS) could be implemented coupled with bridging the gender wage gap in the farm sector.
Therefore, the programme was an attempt by the commission to emphasise on the contribution made of women in the agriculture sector which goes unnoticed in the rural economy and allied sectors in India
