Enhance women’s role in agriculture: Alva

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva underlined the need for focused measures to enhance and harness the capability and contribution of women in the sphere of agriculture. In her address as the guest of honour at the Global Conference on Women In Agriculture (GCWI) this morning at the National Agricultural Science Centre Complex, Pusa Campus, New Delhi, the Governor said that women farmers represent more than a quarter of the world’s population and constitute, on an average, 43 per cent of the agricultural work force in developing countries. “The Agriculture sector employs about 80 per cent of all economically active women in our country, with 48 per cent of India’s selfemployed farmers being women,” said the governor, according to a press statement released here. While addressing delegates from all over the country and abroad at the threeday conference which began today, the Governor said women, as a human resource in agriculture, though mostly unrecognised, formed the backbone of the agricultural rural economy. The Governor said that this was the right time to undertake a stock taking exercise in a holistic manner, to empower farm women and ensure higher economic growth in the agriculture sector. It is imperative that scientists, policy makers, development professionals and civil society organizations share their knowledge to design more focused action for enhancing and harnessing the capability of women in agriculture, while reducing the drudgery and burden of their lives. She said that from her experience of working with women at various levels, she believed that special capacity building programmes to face the challenges were needed for women. Besides, loans and Kissan credit cards must be provided to them, tools and machinery must be designed specially for work done by women, information base and skills of rural women must be upgraded and laws banning women from performing operations like stone breaking and carrying loads on the head must be put in place. The conference has been organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Asia Pacifi c Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). Ms Alva said that the Global Conference would set the tone for change, by empowering women and developing a clear Framework for Action. Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit and renowned agriculture scientist, Dr M S Swaminathan were present on the occasion besides a large number of researchers, policy makers, scientists and experts in the fi eld.