Feminization of Agricultural Labour in India

The paper has studied feminization of agricultural labour in India. Over the years, there has been a gradual realization about the key role of women in agricultural development. The phenomenon of increasing feminization of agriculture has drawn policy attention in recent years. It is observed that the share of cultivators in the total rural workforce is declining, while that of agricultural labourers has increased marginally at the national level. The workforce composition of rural India (main and marginal) has shown a 4 per cent shift of rural workforce in favour of women during 1991–2001. The Census 2001 data show that 39.16 per cent of the total workers in farming (cultivators and agricultural labour) are women. About 33 per cent of the cultivators and about 47 per cent of agricultural labourers are women. If we add female workers in livestock, fisheries and forestry-related enterprises, their percentage would increase. The feminization of agriculture generally takes place due to out-migration of males from low-paid agriculture to high-paid industry.