Feminization and the empowerment of women in the rural Indian dairy sector

The growing rural-to-urban migration by men has caused a ‘feminization’ of the agriculture sector. But in India the feminization of livestock production and animal husbandry originated even before Operation Flood in the 1970s. In the livestock sector, women make up about 70% of the workers, 80% of food producers and 10% of basic foodstuff processors. However, because few women own productive assets such as land and livestock or are economically empowered, significant gender inequalities exist in access to technologies, credit, information, inputs and services, and women are paid much less than men. There is an urgent need to correct the gender bias against rural women. Recognizing women as livestock owners and processors and strengthening their decisionmaking capabilities would empower them economically and socially and help them escape poverty.