India Plans Women-Friendly Agricultural Equipment
Men are migrating to cities, leaving behind women in villages. That’s impacting agriculture as women find it difficult to use heavy equipment used for farming. But that is going to change as the government plans to develop women-friendly equipment to sustain agriculture.
“Large numbers of men are migrating in search of jobs. This is due to severe drought and other natural disasters caused by the climate change. These men are leaving behind women who cannot cultivate the land as most of the equipment used for farming are heavy and meant for men,” R.B. Sinha, Joint Secretary to Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said.
The capacity of women has to be enhanced to sustain agriculture in the country in view of demographic and socio-economic changes in rural areas due to climate change, Sinha said. “With men migrating, the government has to equip women in rural areas with friendly technologies to sustain agriculture,” he said here last week during the Knowledge Forum on Climate Resilient Development in Himalyan and Downstream Regions.
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center