Women comprise over 42 per cent of the agricultural labour force in the country, signifying increasing feminisation of agriculture, and yet they own less than 2 per cent of its farm land. According to the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), notwithstanding laws ensuring women’s rights to agricultural land, most such land is owned by either men or undivided families. The IHDS, a nationwide panel survey covering 41,554 households in 1,503 villages and 971 urban neighbourhoods across India, in two waves (2004-05 and 2011-12), is jointly organised by the University of Maryland and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
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