Rights, justice, action for India’s women farmers

On March 8, 2026, women and girls around the world will demand equal rights, and equal justice to enforce, exercise, and enjoy them, to mark International Women’s Day. The theme aligns closely with 2026 also being observed as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

Legal reforms, including equal inheritance rights for daughters, have not translated into matching gains on the ground. In most rural households, land and property remain registered in men’s names. Social norms, patrilineal inheritance practices, limited legal awareness and administrative hurdles keep women’s names off land records. The woman who manages daily farm operations and negotiates with input dealers and labourers often does so without the legal standing that a land title would confer.

Without titles or formal recognition as farmers, women face systemic barriers to accessing institutional credit, crop insurance, irrigation schemes, agricultural extension services, climate-resilient technologies and many flagship programmes that hinge on documentation. When eligibility is linked to assets they do not own, exclusion is built into the design.

Given that women’s access to and control over cultivable land remains abysmally low due to a combination of social, legal and cultural factors, their labour and contributions remain invisible and undervalued. This disparity between the substantial contributions by women to agri-food systems and their lack of formal recognition as “farmers” underscores a structural disconnect at the core of their systemic exclusion.

Feminisation of agriculture without security

As migration by men accelerates, agriculture is increasingly being “feminised”: women take on greater responsibility for cultivation, risk management and household food provisioning. While, in theory, the expanded role of women in agriculture could improve women’s nutritional outcomes, in practice, heavy agricultural workloads, poor access to drudgery-reduction technologies, and the absence of a supportive care ecosystem place immense pressure on them to balance both productive and reproductive responsibilities.

Studies show that resource-poor women who experience huge work burdens, especially during peak agricultural seasons, experience severe health issues and micronutrient deficiency. India still carries an unacceptably high burden of malnutrition among women and girls. Persistently high anaemia rates among women of reproductive age, combined with widespread micronutrient deficiencies, amount to a silent emergency.

These nutritional deficits in women have intergenerational consequences. Maternal undernutrition and anaemia contribute to low birth weight, stunting and impaired development in children. Diets in many rural households remain cereal-heavy and low in pulses, fruits, vegetables and animal-source foods. The paradox is stark: women who help feed the nation are unable to secure a diverse, nutritious diet for themselves and their children.

Over the last decade, India has put in place an ambitious right-to-food framework, anchored in the National Food Security Act. The law guarantees subsidised cereals, supplementary nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and young children, and maternity entitlements. Several States have added local foods, millets and fortified staples to their diets. Yet, improvements in women’s nutrition have been uneven, and anaemia trends are deeply worrying.

Entitlements halt at the threshold

Progress toward bridging the gap between law and lived reality requires gender-transformative approaches. The status of women in agri-food systems depends on addressing systemic inequalities.

Secure land rights, access to inputs, labour-saving technologies, credit, resources, extension services and decision-making empower women to influence agricultural practices, enhance diets and food security, and strengthen their agency. Improving women’s agricultural entitlements promotes equity, health, and nutrition.

Prof. M.S. Swaminathan emphasised women’s control over conservation, cultivation, consumption, and commercialisation in agri-food chains. However, programme designs often remain piecemeal: food transfers through Public Distribution Systems are cereal-centric, with uneven integration of pulses, millets, and nutrient-dense foods. Frontline workers, overburdened, impact programme quality and community literacy. Digitalisation offers benefits but can exclude those with poor connectivity, documentation or digital skills. The result is a limited right to food. Many women, especially women farmers, cannot fully claim, control, or benefit from them.

From the vantage points of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in India, four priorities merit urgent attention if the 2026 theme is to have substantive content.

First, the visibility of women farmers in law, data, and policy. This can be achieved only if granular, gender-disaggregated data are collected and made available. All agricultural policies and schemes must draw on the definition of a farmer set out in the National Policy for Farmers, which delinks a farmer’s identity from land ownership and emphasises the activities they perform. This acknowledges the contributions of women landowners, landless cultivators, tenants, agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, tribal and forest gatherers, and those involved in related agricultural work. Second, women’s rights to land and to productive resources such as water and credit must be strengthened. This requires accelerating the implementation of equal inheritance provisions, promoting joint spousal titles, providing incentives to register land and housing in women’s names, ensuring gender-sensitive revenue registration processes, and strengthening their role in the management of common lands and water resources. Embedding land and asset questions within women’s collectives — can enhance collective bargaining power.

Keeping nutritional objectives in focus

Third, it is essential to ensure that food systems and safety nets are closely aligned with nutritional objectives. Public procurement policies and agricultural support measures should promote the cultivation of nutri-cereals, pulses, fruits, and vegetables by small-scale and women farmers, and effectively distribute these products through public distribution channels, Anganwadis, and school meal programmes. Community-driven approaches such as kitchen gardens, women’s seed banks, and localised food planning, can significantly enhance women’s roles in transforming dietary patterns and production practices.

Fourth, women farmers must have access to technologies and extension services to strengthen their agency and decision-making. Labour-saving tools ease drudgery, reduce time poverty, and protect women’s health. Equitable access to extension services ensures that women receive timely information, training and market insights tailored to their needs. When equipped with knowledge and appropriate technologies, women can make informed choices about crop selection, sustainable farming practices, and resource management, enhancing productivity, resilience, and household nutrition outcomes.

The MSSRF’s experience shows that when women gain knowledge, rights and institutional backing, they become the drivers of climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich and nutrition-sensitive agriculture. The WFP’s work in India and globally demonstrates that placing women at the centre of food security and social protection programmes improves outcomes not only for them but also for entire communities.

On this International Women’s Day, the call for “Rights. Justice. Action. For All women and girls” should go beyond mere symbolism. Recognising women as farmers, ensuring their rights to land and productive resources, and allowing them to claim their right to food and nutrition are crucial steps toward creating a more equitable, resilient, and nourished India.

Soumya Swaminathan is Chairman of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). Elisabeth Faure is Representative and Country Director of the World Food Programme in India