M S Swaminathan Research Foundation

From the very beginning of agriculture ten thousand years ago,
women have been playing a pivotal role both in the production
and post-harvest phases of farming. Their contributions to
the conservation and enhancement of agro-biodiversity have been
particularly very significant. They are the real genome saviours of the
world.
Agriculture provides 57% of India’s total employment and, 73%
of India’s total rural employment. Women constitute 73% of the
agricultural workforce. Agriculture is getting increasingly feminized,
in view of the growing migration of men belonging to small and
marginal farmer and landless labour families to urban areas, seeking
alternative livelihoods because of the uneconomic nature of small
scale farming particularly in rain-fed areas lacking assured irrigation.