What makes rural women-led agri growth - the steadiest way to progress

On November 20, 2019, I wrote for The Indian Express on ‘A Greater Ease of Living’. I had argued that discussions on rural poverty fail to factor in multi-dimensional changes in the rural-agriculture sector in recent years. On May 9, 2022, I again wrote for The Indian Express on how poverty in rural India came down due topro-poor thrust in government programmes that involved building trust through community mobilisation. On February 1, 2024, I wrote again for The Indian Express on why rural female labour force participation rate had gone up and how the evidence suggested that the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) play a crucial role in improving female work participation rate. The steady growth of the agriculture sector and the bridging of the gap in monthly per capita consumption expenditure reported in recent surveys confirm that some change is happening in rural lives and livelihoods. This is clearly a rural women farmer-led agricultural growth. There are many lessons for development in other sectors from the steady rates of progress with women’s collectives at the centre for livelihood diversification.

 

 

First, in 2011, for the first time, an exclusive programme for women farmers was started under the then National Rural Livelihood Mission called Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), focusing on sustainable agriculture using bio-fertilisers and bio-pesticides. Fruits and vegetables, and animal resources became the prime sectors for diversifying livelihoods. Working with women’s collectives that expanded very significantly from 25 million women in 2014 to over 100 million women under the Rural Livelihood Mission currently, over 50 million women have already been credit linked. After retiring debts, women’s borrowings expanded in rainfed areas into fruits and vegetable cultivation and large-scale animal resource rearing with modern practices. With Community Resource Persons drawn from among local women trained in agriculture and animal husbandry (Krishi Sakhi, Pashu Sakhi), MKSP laid the foundation of women-led livelihood diversification on scale.

 

Second, in 2014, a decision was taken to spend at least 60 per cent of MGNREGS funds in agriculture and allied activities. Simultaneously, a conscious policy shift towards more individual beneficiary schemes under MGNREGS like ninety-day support in house construction, animal sheds for marginal and small farmers, irrigation wells, farm ponds, mango orchards in rainfed tribal areas where poor still have land, and so on, facilitated the livelihood diversification on scale. Studies have recorded how the thrust on water conservation and individual beneficiary schemes paved the way for higher levels of agricultural and allied activities among women farmers. Evaluation studies have indicated 22 per cent gain in incomes of women under the rural livelihood mission in a period of 6-8 years that they take to mature as collectives.

 

Third, lower than market wage rates under MGNREGS has led to women working more than men under the programme. Nationally 57 per cent of the work has gone to women, further bolstering the rural female labour force participation rate. Fifty million women being credit-linked under the DAYNRLM, besides other opportunities like mudra loans and so on, translated into a large number of nano enterprises, single women enterprises, etc. Community Resource Person approach of capacity building with a large-scale involvement of credible civil society organisations like PRADAN made for a real difference in the extension of appropriate agricultural practices. Training in agriculture and animal husbandry at the local level along with the social capital of women’s collectives, have contributed to higher per capita consumption expenditures as well. Network of rural roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and other State level village road networks helped in marketing of produce. Technology enabled marketing platforms and the demand for fresh vegetables, milk, meat, etc in urban areas, further facilitated better integration with markets.

 

Fourth, the women-led diversification of livelihoods could have delivered even better income and livelihoods if the levels of education and skills were better. Lack of secondary completion or access to modern day vocational skills, compromises the ability of women to seek higher order economic activity. Therefore, despite a much larger number of poor women diversifying economic activities, most of them still make only a paltry sum of money. We cannot afford to neglect the education and skills continuum in rural areas, especially among women.

 

The clear lesson from the women farmer-led approach to livelihood diversification with access to credit suggests a bottoms up approach of community collectives is perhaps the steadiest way to progress. We do not follow this approach in setting up manufacturing or services. For a more inclusive India, the impetus for large scale quality employment and incomes calls for an approach that prioritises women and youth collectives and builds on their social capital. Human development appears the most critical weak link in a faster higher order movement up the skilling ladder. The women-led agricultural growth is a lesson for planners to recognise the economic potential of a women-led growth with decentralised community action. The recognition of women as farmers is itself a big step forward as till recent years, agricultural statistics would make us feel as if women did not matter in this sector when the truth is that they carry out most of the operations. Denial of agricultural land ownership rights to women in the name of preventing fragmentation of holdings, needs to be re-visited. The steady agricultural growth also highlights how India has successfully made a transformation despite over 80 per cent farm holdings being small or marginal.

 

  Amarjeet Sinha is a Senior Fellow in Centre for Social and Economic Progress.   Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the writer. They do not reflect the views of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper