Content
- Holding up half the sky on India’s farms
- Era of Gentle Trade is Over: Global Village is Being Replaced by Law of Jungle
Holding up half the sky on India’s farms
Why in News?
- International Women’s Day (8 March 2026) coincided with the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026), highlighting the central role of women in agricultural production and rural livelihoods.
- Recent field-based studies indicate that women constitute nearly half of India’s agricultural workforce, yet their work remains undercounted, underpaid, and inadequately recognised in official statistics.
- Evidence from village surveys reveals that women’s labour is crucial in crop cultivation, livestock rearing, and wage labour, but their remuneration remains low and stagnant.
Relevance
- GS Paper I – Indian Society
- Role of women in agriculture and rural economy
- Gender inequality and wage disparity
- Feminisation of agriculture
- GS Paper III – Agriculture
- Agricultural labour dynamics
- Inclusive agricultural growth
- Livestock economy and rural livelihoods
- GS Paper II – Governance
- Women empowerment policies
- Gender-responsive agricultural policies
Practice Question
- “Women constitute the backbone of India’s agricultural economy, yet their contributions remain under-recognised.” Examine the role of women in Indian agriculture and discuss the challenges they face.(250 Words)
Women’s Participation in India’s Agricultural Workforce
Rising Female Workforce Participation
- The work participation rate of rural women aged 15 years and above increased from 35% in 2011–12 to 46.5% in 2023–24, reflecting greater involvement in agriculture and allied activities.
- However, India’s female labour force participation still remains lower than the global average, where women’s workforce participation ranges between 57% and 63% in many countries.
Scale of Women’s Agricultural Employment
- In 2023–24, an estimated 117.6 million women were engaged in agriculture, including self-employed cultivators, hired labourers, and a small number of regular workers.
- The corresponding male agricultural workforce stood at 127.5 million workers, indicating that women constitute nearly half of India’s agricultural labour force.
Feminisation of Agriculture
Rise in Self-Employment
- The share of self-employed women in rural employment increased from 60% in 2011–12 to 73% in 2023–24, largely due to limited wage employment opportunities.
- The proportion of women self-employed in agriculture rose significantly from 48% to 62% during the same period, indicating increasing dependence on family-based farming activities.
Women’s Share in Agricultural Labour
- Women constituted 47.2% of all self-employed workers in agriculture in 2023–24, reflecting their growing presence in cultivation, livestock rearing, and other allied rural activities.
Women’s Role Across Agricultural Activities
Crop Production
- Field-level village studies show that women contribute around one-third of family labour in crop cultivation, highlighting their substantial but often unrecognised contribution to farming operations.
- When both family labour and hired labour are considered together, women’s share of total labour in crop production can exceed 50% in several regions.
Livestock Rearing
- Women are the primary workforce in livestock rearing, particularly in activities such as feeding animals, cleaning sheds, milking cattle, and managing poultry.
- With about 40 million rural households owning milch animals, it is estimated that nearly 40 million women are engaged in livestock-related work.
Agricultural Wage Labour
- Women also participate extensively in casual agricultural labour, including sowing, transplanting, weeding, and harvesting operations.
- The share of women workers in casual agricultural labour varies widely across regions but exceeds one-third of total labour in many farming systems.
Wage and Income Patterns
Low Agricultural Wages
- Village-level surveys reveal that women agricultural workers earned less than ₹300 per day, significantly lower than the wages received by male workers performing similar tasks.
- The gender wage gap is particularly large in regions where overall wage levels are higher, indicating persistent inequality in labour remuneration.
Official Wage Data
- According to Labour Bureau data (November 2025), the average daily agricultural wage for women was ₹384, with significant variations across states.
- For example, women agricultural workers in Kerala received the highest daily wages at about ₹646, reflecting regional labour market differences.
Gender Wage Gap
- In certain regions, women’s agricultural wages were less than 50% of male wages, indicating a substantial gender wage disparity despite similar labour contributions.
Earnings in Livestock Activities
- Women engaged in livestock rearing earned an implicit daily income of roughly ₹100, significantly lower than prevailing agricultural wage rates.
Structural Issues Affecting Women Farmers
Underreporting of Women’s Work
- Official labour surveys often fail to capture women’s work because it is intermittent, unpaid, home-based, and interwoven with care responsibilities.
- Women frequently perform multiple tasks during the day, including household work and agricultural activities, leading to their labour being statistically undercounted.
Limited Land Ownership
- Only about 10% of rural women own agricultural land, limiting their recognition as farmers and restricting their access to institutional credit, subsidies, and government programmes.
Informality of Work
- Most women agricultural workers are self-employed or unpaid family labourers, which reduces their access to labour protections, minimum wages, and social security benefits.
Challenges Facing Women in Agriculture
Persistent Gender Wage Gap
- Women workers in agriculture consistently receive lower wages than men, reflecting gender discrimination in labour markets and undervaluation of women’s work.
Declining Demand for Female Labour
- Mechanisation in agriculture has reduced demand for labour-intensive operations traditionally performed by women, thereby limiting wage employment opportunities.
Lack of Data and Policy Visibility
- The absence of comprehensive gender-disaggregated agricultural data makes it difficult to accurately assess women’s contributions and design targeted policy interventions.
Limited Access to Assets and Credit
- Without land ownership or formal recognition as farmers, women face barriers in accessing institutional credit, crop insurance, and agricultural extension services.
Measures to Strengthen Women Farmers
Recognising Women as Farmers
- Policy frameworks should formally recognise women as farmers by recording land rights, tenancy arrangements, and labour contributions in official agricultural databases.
Strengthening Land Rights
- Promoting joint land titles and inheritance rights for women can improve their access to institutional credit, government subsidies, and agricultural inputs.
Improving Wage Equality
- Enforcement of equal wages for equal work under labour laws can reduce gender wage disparities in agricultural employment.
Expanding Institutional Support
- Strengthening women’s access to Self-Help Groups, cooperatives, and producer organisations can improve bargaining power and income opportunities.
Improving Data Collection
- Expanding gender-disaggregated agricultural surveys and labour statistics will help accurately measure women’s economic contribution and guide evidence-based policymaking.
Key Government Schemes Supporting Women Farmers
Livelihood and Collective Empowerment
- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) promotes women’s Self-Help Groups, enabling access to credit, entrepreneurship opportunities, and collective participation in agriculture and allied activities.
- Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) under NRLM focuses specifically on empowering women farmers through sustainable agriculture practices, capacity building, and access to agricultural resources.
Access to Institutional Credit
- Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme provides women farmers with affordable institutional credit for crop production, livestock rearing, fisheries, and other allied activities.
- Stand-Up India Scheme supports women entrepreneurs, including those involved in agro-processing, agri-business, and rural enterprises.
Agricultural Support and Income Security
- Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) provides income support to farmer households, with increasing emphasis on recognising women farmers through joint land titles and beneficiary inclusion.
- Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) offers crop insurance coverage to protect farmers, including women cultivators, from crop losses due to climate and natural disasters.
Livestock and Allied Sector Support
- National Livestock Mission (NLM) promotes entrepreneurship in livestock and poultry sectors where women constitute a major workforce.
- Rashtriya Gokul Mission and Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) support dairy development, an activity predominantly managed by rural women.
Skill Development and Agricultural Extension
- Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) provide training programmes for women farmers on modern agricultural techniques, livestock management, and agro-processing.
- Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) facilitates investment in storage, processing, and supply chain infrastructure that can enhance women’s participation in agricultural value chains.
Conclusion
- Women constitute the backbone of India’s agricultural economy, contributing extensively to crop cultivation, livestock rearing, and rural labour markets. However, their work remains undercounted, underpaid, and undervalued. Ensuring recognition, fair wages, land rights, and institutional support for women farmers is essential for achieving inclusive agricultural growth and strengthening rural livelihoods.
Era of Gentle Trade is Over: Global Village is Being Replaced by Law of Jungle
Why in News?
- Growing trade protectionism, geopolitical conflicts, and supply-chain disruptions are weakening the classical belief that international trade promotes peace and cooperation among nations.
- The global economic order based on interdependence and free trade is increasingly being replaced by strategic competition and economic nationalism.
- The article argues that the era of “gentle trade” (doux commerce) is ending as geopolitical tensions reshape global economic relations.
Relevance
- GS Paper II – International Relations
- Changing global economic order
- Geoeconomic competition
- Declining multilateralism
- GS Paper III – Economy
- Global trade dynamics
- Supply chain restructuring
- Trade protectionism
Practice Question
- The classical belief that international trade promotes peace and cooperation is increasingly being challenged in the contemporary global order. Examine this shift in the context of rising geoeconomic rivalry.(250 Words)
What is “Doux Commerce”?
Concept
- The concept of “doux commerce” was developed by Montesquieu, who argued that commerce softens manners and encourages peaceful relations by creating mutual economic interests between nations.
- According to this theory, societies engaged in extensive trade would avoid conflicts because war would disrupt profitable economic exchanges.
Role in Globalisation
- This idea influenced the development of the modern liberal economic order, where institutions and trade agreements encouraged economic integration among nations.
- The assumption was that trade interdependence would reduce geopolitical tensions and strengthen international cooperation.
Globalisation and the Promise of Economic Peace
Expansion of Global Trade
- The globalisation era created extensive cross-border production networks, connecting economies through supply chains involving raw materials, manufacturing components, and finished goods.
- Many countries integrated into global markets expecting that economic prosperity and trade partnerships would promote political stability and peaceful relations.
Integration of National Economies
- Global supply chains connected producers and consumers across continents, encouraging the belief that economic interdependence would discourage geopolitical conflict.
- Countries increasingly relied on each other for energy supplies, manufacturing inputs, and technological components.
Emerging Shift Toward Geo-Economic Rivalry
Rise of Economic Nationalism
- Countries are increasingly adopting protectionist measures such as tariffs, export restrictions, and industrial subsidies to protect domestic industries and strategic sectors.
- Governments now prioritise economic security and technological sovereignty over pure efficiency in global trade.
Strategic Supply Chains
- Critical industries such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and energy technologies are increasingly viewed as strategic assets requiring domestic control.
- Countries are restructuring supply chains to reduce dependence on geopolitical rivals.
Friend-Shoring
- The concept of friend-shoring involves relocating production networks to politically trusted partner countries rather than relying on global cost efficiency.
- This reflects a shift from economic logic to geopolitical alignment in trade relationships.
Drivers Behind the End of Gentle Trade
Geopolitical Conflicts
- Major geopolitical conflicts have demonstrated that economic interdependence does not necessarily prevent political or military confrontation.
- Instead, economic relationships may become tools of political pressure and strategic leverage.
Supply Chain Disruptions
- The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains, encouraging countries to prioritise economic resilience and domestic production capacity.
Weaponisation of Trade
- Trade restrictions, financial sanctions, and technology bans are increasingly used as instruments of geopolitical strategy.
Weakening of Multilateral Trade Institutions
- Institutions such as the World Trade Organization face difficulties resolving disputes and enforcing global trade rules amid rising economic nationalism.
Implications for the Global Economic Order
Fragmentation of Globalisation
- The global economy is gradually moving from a single integrated marketplace toward multiple regional economic blocs and strategic trade alliances.
Increased Costs of Trade
- Fragmented supply chains may lead to higher production costs, reduced efficiency, and increased prices for consumers worldwide.
Strategic Economic Rivalries
- Economic competition among major powers could intensify geopolitical tensions, increasing the risk of broader political conflicts.
Decline of Rules-Based Trade
- As nations prioritise strategic interests, the effectiveness of rules-based multilateral trade systems may weaken.
Challenges in the Emerging Global Order
Erosion of Multilateral Cooperation
- The weakening of global institutions reduces the ability to manage trade disputes and coordinate international economic policies.
Economic Inefficiencies
- Excessive protectionism may undermine productivity gains achieved through global specialisation and integrated supply chains.
Global Inequality
- Smaller economies may struggle to navigate competing economic blocs dominated by major powers.
Way Forward
Strengthening Multilateral Institutions
- Reforming and revitalising global institutions such as the World Trade Organization can help restore confidence in rules-based trade governance.
Building Resilient Supply Chains
- Diversification of supply chains can balance economic efficiency with strategic security without completely dismantling global trade networks.
Balancing Security and Globalisation
- Governments must strike a balance between economic openness and national security concerns.
Promoting Cooperative Economic Diplomacy
- Strengthening diplomatic engagement can prevent economic disputes from escalating into broader geopolitical conflicts.
Conclusion
- The classical belief that commerce naturally fosters peace is increasingly challenged by geopolitical rivalry and economic nationalism. As globalisation evolves into a more fragmented system of strategic economic alliances, rebuilding trust through cooperation and resilient trade frameworks will be essential to sustain global stability.
