Corteva to support 2 million women farmers by 2030, launches programme
Corteva Agriscience, a global firm dealing with agrochemicals and seeds, on Tuesday announced a programme to empower two million women farmers across India’s agri-value chain by 2030, saying with equitable access, women can boost farm yields by 20-30 per cent.
Subroto Geed, President of Corteva Agriscience (south Asia), said: “Women are the backbone of rural life and agriculture. We hope this focus will accelerate India’s path to becoming a developed nation.”
The programme’s key components include promoting climate-smart practices through women-only farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and cooperatives; capacity-building and mentorship for female STEM students; and prioritising health, wellness, and financial literacy for women farmers, the company said in a statement.
According to a survey, rural women contribute to producing 60-80 per cent of India’s food supply, but they do not have access to many of the resources, facilities and services since the farm sector is equally dominated by men in the decision making process or to avail the resources.
As many as 63 per cent of the workforce in agriculture comprise women, who have direct contribution in 75 per cent of major crop production, 79 per cent of horticulture, 51 per cent of post-harvest activities and 95 per cent of animal husbandry and fisheries activities.
According to Anuja Kadian, Director-government and industry affairs (Asia Pacific) in Corteva, the initiative links gender equality, economic growth and environmental sustainability. “By equipping women with tools, knowledge, and resources, Corteva is paving the way for women to lead in sustainable development, supporting India’s goals of economic empowerment, food security, and sustainability,” she said.
At the roundtable discussion organised on the unveiling ceremony, Subha Thakur, an additional secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry, said public-private collaboration should be increased to bring women farmers into the mainstream. “More than half of the 14 crore farmers are women. However, their contribution goes unrecognised,” she said.
Heera Lal, a special secretary in Uttar Pradesh, advocated for a bottom-up approach to improve the plight of women farmers. While Arun Kumar Panda from Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (under ICAR) was of the opinion that there is gap in generating and collating gender-based data in agriculture and once that is bridged, it will help in policy formulation immensely.
As 30 per cent focus of government programmes is on women beneficiaries, many activists were of the views that it should be raised to 50 per cent as per share in the population so that at least something will reach them.
Ag-Hub Foundation Managing Director Kalpana Sastry Regulagedda, Earthood Executive Director Avinash Kumar, Ghar Ayee Nanhi Pari Founder and MD Ebha Singh and Viniera Vineyards FPO Director Babita Khachi also participated in the discussion.