Picture a farmer. Image that comes to mind is man. But when one looks at who actually farming, she is increasingly likely to be woman. Perception-reality mismatch caused by age-old practices of collecting data, designing policies and defining who farmer is. Makes millions of women who work on farms nearly invisible. That may finally be beginning to change.
In July 2026 Maharashtra passed Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill, granting women independent recognition as farmers irrespective of land ownership through Woman Farmer Certificate. First Indian state legislation to give enforceable legal form to activity-based, land-delinked definition of farmer that National Policy for Farmers set out in 2007 but never operationalised. Bill arrives nearly two decades after policy, 15 years after comparable law first proposed at national level lapsed bill in Rajya Sabha 2011. Culmination of three decades of women farmers’ movements.
State-level efforts sought to recognise before — Kerala’s Kudumbashree collectives enabled group farming, Odisha’s KALIA scheme reached landless and sharecropper women. But women farmers’ registry delinked from land records missing.
Why matters? In 2025 agriculture employed roughly 110 million women and 127 million men rural as per PLFS Census adjusted, bringing sector close to gender parity. Women’s agricultural workforce more than doubled since 2017-18, nearly three-quarters of all rural women workers now in agriculture vs less than half of men. Regrettably most work without pay — 41% of female agri workers unpaid against 20% men. 63% of men own-account workers vs 39% women.
In India women largely work on family lands though may not own it or have name on records as patriarchal norms meant records primarily in men’s names. Only 14% operational holdings with women per Agricultural Census 2015-16. Person whose name in records gets included in database and receives benefits.
Result women unable to access key schemes — only 23% of women beneficiaries of PM-KISAN which provides Rs 6000 per year to eligible landholding families. Even where women share in agri workforce more than 50%, share of beneficiaries less than one-third. Exceptions revealing — Meghalaya 70% beneficiaries followed by Kerala 44% due to matrilineal systems and collective farming. At other extreme J&K and Himachal women make up nearly two-thirds of workforce but small fraction beneficiaries. Binding constraint not land but identification system built on it. Maharashtra Act broadens definitions to recognise landless cultivator, livestock rearer, agri labourer, plantation labourer, pastoralist. Recognition on paper only beginning, implementation requires gram panchayat verification, not land record.