Pune, 27^th March, 2025

The ICSSR-sponsored National Seminar on ‘Empowering Women Farmers Through Sustainable Agricultural Practices’ was successfully organized by Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (PGDM), WeSchool, Mumbai, and Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, VAMNICOM Pune. The seminar served as a significant platform for policymakers, academicians, researchers, and industry experts to deliberate on the role of women in agriculture and their empowerment through sustainable practices.

This national seminar is organized under the Vision ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ collaborative research project and aims to bring together leading academics, researchers, policymakers, social workers, FPO and cooperative leaders, NGOs, and students to discuss the role of women in agriculture and rural economies. The seminar provided a deliberation platform for the stakeholders to discuss on the intersectional challenges faced by rural women in agriculture and allied sectors, their participation in Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and Cooperatives, and strategies for building resilient livelihoods through gender-inclusive institutional frameworks.

The seminar commenced with a warm welcome address by Dr. Hema Yadav, Director, VAMNICOM, who highlighted the importance of empowering women in agriculture through capacity building, financial inclusion, and cooperative models. She stressed the need for collaborative efforts between government bodies, academic institutions, and agricultural cooperatives to enhance women's participation in sustainable farming and agribusiness.

The inaugural address by Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute emphasized the need for capacity building, entrepreneurship development, and policy advocacy for strengthening women's participation in cooperative agribusiness models. He highlighted that empowering women farmers is crucial for achieving the broader goal of rural prosperity and food security in India.

Keynote speakers Dr. Sangeeta Shete, SMART Project, Govt. of MH, Gender & Social Development Specialist, Eminent Expert on Gender & Rural Development and Dr. K. Satya Lakshmi, Director, National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN) in Pune shared their perspectives on gender-sensitive agricultural policies and sustainable farming practices.

Dr. Shete highlighted the socio-economic barriers faced by women in farming and the importance of inclusive policies that ensure equal access to resources and technology.

Dr. Lakshmi focused on organic farming, climate-smart agriculture, and the role of women-led farmer producer organizations (FPOs) in promoting sustainable agricultural growth.

The seminar featured 25 paper presentations from researchers and practitioners across India, covering topics such as financial inclusion strategies for improving credit access and micro-financing options for women farmers, the role of digital platforms, mobile applications, and AI-driven tools in enhancing agricultural productivity for women farmers, case studies of successful women-led agribusiness enterprises in dairy, organic farming, and agro-processing, and innovative approaches to climate resilience to mitigate climate change impacts and ensure sustainable farming practices.

A highlight of the seminar was an engaging panel discussion on Resilient Livelihoods for Sustainable Agribusiness Enterprises, featuring experts from agricultural cooperatives, financial institutions, policy think tanks, and rural development organizations. The discussion centered on policy recommendations for gender equity in agriculture, enhancing financial accessibility for women-led agribusiness ventures, strengthening the integration of technology in women’s farming initiatives, and the role of cooperatives and self-help groups (SHGs) in enabling rural women to scale up their agricultural enterprises.

Aligned with the Government of India’s ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ vision, the seminar emphasized the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, research-driven policymaking, and gender-focused initiatives to drive agricultural development.

The seminar concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Vaishali Patil, Sr. Associate Dean, Research, Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute & Project Coordinator Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) who acknowledged the valuable contributions of all participants. She emphasized the need for continuous dialogue and action-oriented research to mainstream gender-inclusive policies in agriculture.

The outcomes of the seminar will be compiled into a policy recommendation report, which will be shared with relevant government bodies, cooperatives, and research institutions to drive future interventions. The seminar successfully created a roadmap for empowering women farmers and fostering sustainable agricultural practices, ensuring that their role in India’s agrarian economy is recognized, strengthened, and supported for long-term socio-economic development.

ICSSR, Ministry of Education, GoI, has awarded a prestigious collaborative research project titled "Empowering Women Farmers through Sustainable Agricultural Practices: A Study on Farmer Producer Organisations in Maharashtra" under the special call for Vision Viksit Bharat@2047.

The research project has been granted to Dr. Vaishali Patil, Dr. Hema Yadav, Dr. Pravin Ghunnar, Dr. Mahesh Kadam, and Dr. Rachana Patil in recognition of their significant contributions to gender-inclusive agricultural research. This initiative aims to explore the role of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in promoting sustainable livelihoods for women in agriculture and fostering their participation in cooperative and agribusiness models.

The National Seminar and the study project will provide policy recommendations and strategic frameworks to enhance women's empowerment in the agricultural sector, aligning with the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047 for inclusive and sustainable rural development. The organizers extend their sincere gratitude to ICSSR for providing funding support for organizing this national seminar and the associated research project. Their support has been instrumental in facilitating meaningful discussions, knowledge exchange, and research-driven insights that will contribute to shaping future policies and initiatives for women farmers in India.

About VAMNICOM:

VAMNICOM (Vaikunth Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management) a National Institute under Ministry of Cooperation having training a core mandate for stakeholders in farm and nonfarm sectors focusing livestock, dairy & fisheries sector. In the year 1964, a high-level group appointed by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of late Prof. D. R. Gadgil to assess the training needs of the cooperative sector recommended the setting up of a National Institute. This Institute was envisaged to undertake the training of senior personnel in the cooperative institutions/departments, conduct fundamental/applied research and provide consultancy services, organize courses in business management for senior personnel in cooperative business organizations and train the youth on various facets of Management.

About Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research PGDM, Mumbai (WeSchool):

Established in 1977, WeSchool works under the aegis of S.P. Mandali Trust, one of the oldest trusts in the space of education having two campuses in Mumbai and Bangalore working in academics, research, extension, management and allied activities.

Weschool’s, PGDM rural management (Emerging Economies) program is an AICTE-approved, NBA-accredited and AIU equivalent full-time 2-year program. The program's vision is 'Creating corporate managers with rural insights'. The program launched in 2012, emphasizes the comprehensive integration of business management with value creation for bottom of the pyramid masses. Our objective is to develop market-ready managers with a global perspective who possess a strong value system, empathy and tenacity, combined with local knowledge and a global Outlook, preparing them to seize challenging opportunities in emerging economies.

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