Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, at the inaugural session of the Hindu Businessline Agri & Commodity Summit 2026
| Photo Credit:
BIJOY GHOSH
Though the role of women in agriculture is changing from drudgery and hard labour to more systematic working, it is still not enough to bring real transformation to the rural economy.
Women are the real beneficiaries of schemes to provide water, electricity or the Swach Bharat mission, but they need to be empowered by ensuring the availability of basic amenities across all sectors.
Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, inaugurating businessline’s fifth Agri and Commodity Summit in New Delhi on Friday, said more women have become members of farmer-producer organisations (FPO) due change in land laws.
5 important shifts
“Initially, in agriculture, land laws did not give women the ownership of rural land. But now, most States have changed their laws, and most women are getting the ownership of land,” he said in the summit, “Women – Pillar of Rural Economy”. businessline is the first major platform to commemorate the “Year of Women Farmer”, declared by the UN.
In his special address, Shaji KV, Nabard Chairman, identified five important structural shifts that should happen, one of which is the formal recognition of women as farmers.
Stating that almost 50 per cent of the rural workforce in the agricultural sector comprises women, he said the government has come up with several initiatives so that women can own farms.
Women play a key role in dairying, whose value has exceeded that of grains, pulses and other crops, said Brahmani Nara, Executive Director, Heritage Foods. “Women are the guardians of nutrition and nourishment,” she said in a fireside chat with businessline editor Raghuvir Srinivasan.
Call for role reversal
Calling for a major role reversal of the “silent architects of the rural economy, speakers across various panels said their contribution in the field needs to be recognised.
Sanjiv Kanwar, Managing Director, Yara South Asia and Country Head of Yara India, taking part in the panel, “Silent Architects of the Rural Economy” said that almost 50-70 per cent of women farmers don’t have land titles in their name.
Ajay Kumar Jha, Deputy General Manager, Product Development and Marketing, SBI, in the panel, “Seed of Funding”, called for motivating women farmers to migrate up the value chain from being a mere producer to a processor. In a way, it helps solve the problem of providing funds to them.
“Lakhpati Didis” Aruna Debbarma from Tripura and Vaishali Ghuge from Maharashtra, said they need better markets and structured support for women self-help groups.
Women’s shining role in viewing precious metals as an asset came into focus at the panel, “Precious Metals: Beyond Aam Aadmi’s Reach”.
Nabard was the presenting sponsor of the summit, while associate sponsors were Yara India, Indofil Industries Ltd, Bayer, HURL and Markfed Punjab. State Bank of India was the banking partner, and Agri Network Consultancy was the media partner.
Published on February 27, 2026