A year unclaimed: The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer. On September 30, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh brings women farmers to Delhi to demand recognition. Maharashtra legislated in July to certify women as farmers irrespective of land ownership. PLFS 2025 places 59.8% of India's 20 crore women workers in agriculture: about 12 crore women, or 45% of all farm workers. Yet the last Agriculture Census recorded only 13.96% of holdings and 11.72% of area in women's names. Her share of the work is 3.2 times her share of the land, and her holding is 16% smaller than average.
Work without a title: Title decides everything downstream. PM-KISAN's 23rd instalment reached over 2.18 crore women out of 9.44 crore beneficiaries: 23%, half their share of the workforce. Self-employed women earned Rs 6,374 a month in 2025, compared with Rs 17,914 for men, 36 paise per rupee. FAO finds that women-managed farms of equal size yield 24% less, owing to gaps in inputs, knowledge and time, not skill. On women-operated land alone, closing that gap lifts national farm output by 2.9%, by my calculation.
