The Working Group of Women and Land Ownership (WGWLO) has demanded separate budgetary allocation for women working in agriculture. A day-long WGWLO workshop, held in Gandhinagar, and participated by over 250 representatives from Gujarat’s 17 districts, put forward this demand, pointing out that 65% agricultural workers in India are women. In Gujarat, as per the 2011 Census, about 44 lakh women are involved in farming activities.
The workshop heard views of women farmers on erratic monsoon, organic agriculture, contribution of women in agriculture, and providing forest land rights to women farmers. At the end of the workshop, a memorandum consisting several demands by women farmers was handed over the Gujarat government. The memorandum insisted, there should be a separate data base for male and female farmers, even as seeking special concessions as bank loans to women farmers and their organizations.
Other demands put forward at the workshop included ensuring landownership to women, improving agricultural production and adopting organic agriculture. The workshop was conducted by WGWLO convener Shilpa Vasavada, who said that WGWLO represented about 53,000 women agricultural workers, and has been successful in making 7,500 women owners of the land they till. She added, WGWLO helped 13,000 women-farmers to get registered as e-farmers with a special portal for farmers pf Gujarat.
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