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In India, one of every two self-employed farmers is a woman, yet they grapple with stark gender disparities in access to resources, technology, and land ownership. Despite these challenges, their resilience and commitment are the driving force of Indian agriculture, sustaining livelihoods and communities across the country. An intentional approach with women’s farmer collectives, women FPOs, and extension systems has helped to build capacities and access to information and market linkages with digital interventions. The principle behind Digital Green’s efforts is that timely accessible knowledge (data) in the hands of women farmers and women’s farmer collectives, will lead to better agency and actionable decisions which leads to the socio-economic development of women as farmers and entrepreneurs in agriculture. Moreover, women-led and women-centered farmer organizations are particularly critical in ensuring a higher value proposition for smallholder women farmers because of their collective bargaining power and aggregated resources. In an otherwise gender unintentional ecosystem, the needs, feedback, and data from women farmers are a lighthouse on how the ecosystem and especially how decision-makers can direct schemes, and policies with a gender intentionality.The agricultural tasks undertaken by women, particularly those from tribal and lower caste groups, are arduous and labor-intensive. These women farmers are disproportionately impacted by climate change due to their heavy reliance on natural resources. Acknowledging these challenges, initiatives have been launched to provide gender-specific support, empowering these women through digital platforms and tailored advisories. Gender inequality poses a major barrier to eradicating poverty among smallholder farmers. Efforts have been made to reach millions of women farmers, narrowing the agricultural knowledge gap and empowering them to make informed decisions. Collaborations with various agricultural and rural development organizations like the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), and State-level agricultural bureaus have enhanced extension systems, ensuring that women’s groups have a voice in governance. In states like Odisha and Jharkhand, Digital Green’s initiatives have focused on strengthening tribal women farmers’ collective bargaining and leadership abilities, impacting over 50,000 women and promoting economic empowerment. The commitment to gender inclusivity is evident in the design of digital solutions, which involve women farmers as active participants in the exchange of knowledge. A video-based extension model has been employed, featuring women as actors, producers, and disseminators, fostering a culture of recognition and empowerment within rural communities.A notable innovation is an AI-enabled chatbot designed to be gender-sensitive, providing women frontline workers with easy access to extensive video content and voice-based systems. This chatbot compiles agricultural data, making it available in local languages and considering accessibility barriers. It incorporates features like voice recognition, speech recognition, and text-to-speech translation, specifically catering to the needs of women frontline workers. The needs, feedback, and data from women farmers are essential in guiding policymakers towards gender-intentional policies and schemes. Ultimately, empowering women in agriculture is about more than achieving equity; it’s about unlocking their potential to drive socio-economic development and ensure food security in a rapidly evolving world. The mention of specific organizations has been minimized to reflect their proportional involvement in these broader initiatives.Authored By: Ayushi Singh, Director - VISTAAR at Digital Green

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Business :Seeds of Change: Unearthing the Potential of India’s Women in Agriculture

In India, one of every two self-employed farmers is a woman, yet they grapple with stark gender disparities in ... ...