Depeasantisation: The gender aspect

Punjab, the land of the Green Revolution, is going through an agrarian crisis. This impacts not only men, but also women from small-scale and marginal farming communities.
Farmer in Punjab (Source: India Water Portal)
Farmer in Punjab (Source: India Water Portal)
Updated on
2 min read

We've come a long way since the Green Revolution in the 60s especially in Punjab, where it all began. Lower production due to higher costs, increased debt, lowered income and drop in employment – this is the situation here as it grapples with an agrarian crisis. 

The paper titled 'Depeasantization in Punjab: Status of farmers who left farming' published in the journal Current Science, highlights the implications of this crisis among small-scale and marginal farmers in the state. Depeasantisation, a phenomenon where small and marginal farmers are pushed out of the agricultural sector due to being unable to sustain farming practices, is increasing. These farmers find it difficult to be absorbed by the industrial sector due to its different nature and demands, which has resulted in many turning to wage labour for their survival. This has led to a rise in unemployment, increase in dissatisfaction with the available forms of employment, and in suicides due to growing debts.

Women farmers in Punjab (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Women farmers in Punjab (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

In addition to bearing the brunt of unemployment among their husbands, they resort to occupations from the unorganised sector such as domestic labour, face discrimination at the workplace, risk a range of health problems such as malnutrition anaemia, and are vulnurable to sexual exploitation.

It is thus important to include a gendered perspective while addressing the needs and implications of depeasantisation among farming communities, since women too face vulnurabilities that are different from those of men.

Attachment
PDF
depeasantization_in_punjab_status_of_farmers_who_left_farming_current_science_2014.pdf
Preview
Attachment
PDF
women_and_depeasantization_correspondence_current_science_2014.pdf
Preview
India Water Portal
www.indiawaterportal.org