Women farmers need a level-playing field

Representative image: AP

In the second week of August, the Uttar Pradesh government released Rs 26,000 crore — 75 percent of the dues — it owed to the sugarcane farmers for the 2020-21 crushing season. The 4 million sugarcane farmers in the largest sugar-producing state were staring at an economic crisis the last six months. While the Yogi Adityanath government’s move is welcome, steps have to be taken to solve the systemic issues that farmers face in general — and women farmers in particular.

In March, a group of 700 small-holder sugarcane farmers, including women farmer groups, from Lakhimpur Kheri, Muzaffarnagar and Meerut drew up a Charter of Demands to address issues famers have been facing for years. The charter included redress of issues faced by women farmers as well.

This article will focus on women farmers in the larger scheme of sugarcane farmers in UP.

Among other things, the charter included demands related to payment of dues, prioritising the issue of supply tickets (parchi) to women farmers, collecting sugarcane from their doorsteps in cases where the men have migrated, and making sugarcane collection centres women-friendly. It also demanded for more women representatives in sugarcane societies, sugarcane department and panchayats, as well as the setting up of a grievance redress cell, with adequate representation from women farmers to take up their issues.

According to the 2011 Census data, the agriculture sector employs nearly 98 million women, with about 63 percent of them serving as agricultural labourers. Yet, their contribution remains undervalued — especially in sectors such as sugarcane farming, which are perceived to be male-dominated.

Women seldom enjoy land ownership; with 6 percent in UP. Moreover, while they provide labour during sowing and harvesting seasons, they have no rights over selecting crop variety, procuring fertiliser, fixing rates or borrowing loans even in their own fields.

Women from families of small and marginal farmers, who work in the field to augment household income, are involved in labour-intensive work such as de-threshing and hand-weeding operations, and yet continue to be paid less than the male farmers and farm labourers.

It is even tougher for a woman farmer who takes charge of the management of farm and sale of crops in the absence of a male member. Much of farming and farm-related activities are considered to be male bastions. It is difficult for small and marginal women sugarcane farmers to hire a tractor for a couple of days to take the sugarcane to the mill; even if she reaches the mill, she would not be given priority by the mill owners. This is important because to get to the front of the line to sell their produce, at times, it would take days which would mean that these women farmers would have to spend a couple of nights out in the open with the produce where adequate facilities such as drinking water, toilets and accommodation are scarce or non-existent.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the UP sugarcane department distributed supply tickets via SMS to registered sugarcane farmers. While this has seen success, it wasn’t of much help to women farmers. One, women working in farms are hardly registered as farmers, and two, even if they are registered, given the digital divide they would barely be able to access the e-ticket.

While the government has to ensure that sugar mills pay the farmers their dues, this is also the time to tweak policies to help women sugarcane farmers. To begin with, the government should prioritise purchasing from women farmers, preferably from their doorsteps. The sugarcane weighing centres should be made more women-friendly, with gender-segregated toilets, resting rooms, and safe and clean drinking water facilities.

While women have turned up in large numbers at the Delhi border to protest against the farm Bills, the reality on the ground is not the most conducive — they are not considered as farmers and have to negotiate patriarchal social norms and unjust systems. Agricultural progress and farm reforms will be only half won until we accept women as farmers, and address the problems they face.

Ranjana Das is Lead Specialist, Responsible Business, and Ileena Roy is Project Officer – Private Sector Engagement, Oxfam India.

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.