CONTRIBUTIONS AND CHALLENGES OF WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTORS IN INDIA

India is a developing country. As a developing country the main occupation of the people is agriculture and its economy is predominantly agrarian economy. Around seventy percent of the population is live in the rural area and sixty percent are engaged in agriculture as their main source of income. Among them approximately 63% of the agricultural workforce is female. It indicates that women are significantly involve in agriculture, and allied activities contributing substantially to the sector’s productivity. They are engage with the production of crops, live-stock, horticulture, sericulture, post harvesting operations etc. Likewise 70% of farm works are performed by women. Although, women are more than ever finally employed, differences in wages earned by women and men persist in India. Despite their significant contribution, women in agriculture often face gender based disparities, such as limited access to land ownership, credit and decision making power. The dominance of male in decision making in the household and economy has continued even in areas where women are the key provider of labour because the influence of women has not been recognized.