ABSTRACT
The agriculture sector, especially rainfed farms, continues to reel under low incomes, patchy technological upgradation and growing ‘feminisation’ of agricultural labour even as climate change is bringing in its wake new vulnerabilities. India is promoting organic farming as one of the climate change adaptation strategies through the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture. Organic farming is beneficial for the soil and the local ecology and includes livestock rearing, agro-forestry and inland fisheries. However, organic agriculture is highly dependent on women’s labour and increases their workload. Given the prevalent gender-based structural inequalities in the agriculture sector, this chapter examines how just is the transition from conventional to organic farming in India, whether the transition empowers women organic farmers to better adapt to increasing climate risks and, if not, what needs to be done to ensure just transition to organic farming? Based on an empirical study by the author, this chapter uses a gender lens to study impacts of organic and conventional agriculture on men and women in 150 small farming households in three disaster-prone, rainfed areas in the States of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Quantitative and qualitative data from the empirical study is used to examine gender-based inequalities across four dimensions: agriculture credit, workload, ownership of agricultural land and decision-making. A brief gender-based analysis of India’s approach to organic policy framework is presented with examples. In conclusion, the author makes some policy, practice and investment recommendations for a just transition to organic agriculture.
