Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
The government is focused on changing the role of women in agriculture from drudgery and hard labour to more systematic, mechanised and organised working, shifting more decisively towards decision-making and entrepreneurship, Devesh Chaturvedi, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, has said.
The government is doubling its targets for the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative, aiming to empower six crore women in villages to earn an annual income of at least ₹1 lakh within the next five years, Chaturvedi said speaking at the businessline Agriculture and Commodity Summit on Friday.
“One of the first decisions taken by the PM when he entered the ‘Sewa Teerth’ was to increase ‘Lakhpati Didis’ from three crore to six crore. So in the next five years we will have six crore women in villages earning more than a lakh (rupees) every year. That will again bring a lot of empowerment for women,” he said.
To support this, future policies will prioritise the mechanisation of tasks typically performed by women to further reduce physical drudgery and improve overall health, he added.
The Secretary traced the evolution of women in the primary sector, noting that while they have historically performed the “most tedious work” in agriculture and animal husbandry—such as transplanting paddy—their roles are finally being formalised and made less dreary.
Land ownership
This transformation is being driven by several key pillars, prominent among which has been ownership of rural land by women.
“In agriculture, initially the land laws were such that women did not get ownership of rural land. Now most States have changed their laws and most women do get ownership of land. Surveys suggest today in PM Kisan (yojana), more than 25 per cent of beneficiaries are women. This number will keep increasing,” he said.
This is also leading to more credit and other benefits getting accrued to women farmers.
“But ownership may not be enough, because ultimately the decision maker in these entrepreneurship has to be women. They need to have more and more say. That is also happening,” Chaturvedi said.
The Secretary stressed on the role of technological integration and highlighted the ‘Drone Didi’ programme.
Under the programme, more than 1,000 drones have already been distributed to SHG-trained women, with plans for further expansion, he said.
The rise of Krishi Sakhis (70,000 trained in natural farming) and Pashu Sakhis is turning women into the primary drivers of sustainable agriculture and animal health.
The Secretary emphasised that the mandate for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) has been expanded to include those who do not own land but do agriculture work, ensuring more rural women gain a voice as shareholders and decision-makers.
The Secretary pointed out it was primarily women who were driving the mission on natural farming.
“To balance more productivity and income with safe food and safe soil, it is the women folk who play a major role. So it is through women we are running the mission of natural farming,” he said.v
Published on February 27, 2026