‘Women’s contribution in agri-food systems not recognized’

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday said women’s contribution in agri-food systems is not recognized and there is a need to change this story as they are ‘indispensable’ in bringing food from farm to plate. Bulks of the women are kept at the bottom of the pyramid of the agriculture structure and they are denied the opportunities to climb the ladder and assume the role of decision-makers, she said. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore a strong correlation between the agri-food systems and structural inequality in society, she added.

“Women sow, grow, harvest, process, and market the food. They are indispensable in making every grain reach from farm to plate. But still across the world, they are held back and stopped by discriminatory social norms, and barriers to knowledge, ownership, resources and social networks. “Their contribution is not recognized. Their role is marginalized. Their existence is denied in the whole chain of agri-food systems. This story needs to be changed,” Murmu said, addressing a global conference on gender issues in agriculture. In India, changes are being seen as women are getting more empowered through legislative and governmental interventions. There are many stories of women turning into successful entrepreneurs in this sector, she added. The four-day conference is being organised jointly by the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR) Gender Impact Platform and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Asserting that modern women are not helpless but powerful, the President called for “not only women’s development but women-led development” to make agri-food systems more just and equitable. She further said “The irony is that as we enter the modern age, we are still grappling with the challenges of attaining just and resilient agri-food systems.” Although the agriculture sector remained resilient during COVID-19, the President said the pandemic brought to the fore a strong correlation between the agri-food systems and structural inequality in society.

“At the global level, we have seen that women have been kept outside the agri-food systems for long. For example, women are unpaid workers, tillers, farmers in the field but not owners of the land,” she said. Sharing how the crisis of COVID-19, conflict, and climate change have aggravated the challenges by the agri-food systems, the President said.