Did you know 80% of farm work in India is done by women? Despite this, gender barriers persist. At Godrej Agrovet, we're bridging this gap by training women in sustainable practices, turning agriculture into a profit-making, resilient sector. #WomenInAgriculture #SustainableFarming #GodrejAgrovetltd #Brighterfarming
When you think of a farmer you think of a man. However, in Indian agriculture 80% of farm work is undertaken by women. But support for farmers still has gender barriers. The Food and Agriculture Organisation notes that on average, women-run farms produce 20% - 30% less than farms run by men resulting in a crop gap. Addressing these gender specific barriers in farming is crucial to leverage the vast potential that women farmers hold of contributing to economic growth. Women can be agents of change in ushering in climate smart agriculture. Capitalising on women’s role in agriculture and within their households can be a gamechanger in ensuring the uptake of sustainable agriculture. If you look at a farming household in rural India, women are involved from planting the seeds to the harvesting. It makes sense then to engage with the women farmers on adopting practices like drip irrigation, intercropping and mulching. This is exactly what we did at our farmer training programmes Godrej Agrovet Limited. We work in close quarters with the women in the community on training them in adopting sustainable agricultural practices through the implementation of initiatives like forming SHG’s, and farmer field groups among others. With women farmers we can shift our lens towards making agriculture as a profit-making sustainable sector that can build a robust and resilient food system.