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Maharashtra Drought Deepens Women Farmers’ Water and Debt Burdens
A drought means there has not been enough rain for crops and water supplies.
In parts of Maharashtra, many farms have been badly affected.
Women who work on farms also have to cook, care for children and animals, and bring water home.
Some families must make repeated trips to fill their water tanks.
When crops fail, people can lose income but still have bills and loan payments.
Women interviewed said this makes it hard to pay for food and their children’s education.
The state has declared drought in many areas and has started issuing certificates to women farmers.
A group working with women farmers has asked the government for more help.
The Maharashtra government declared drought in 265 of the state’s 358 talukas on September 26.
Women farmers and labourers face crop losses and water shortages while also carrying much of the household and caregiving work.
Some families travel repeatedly to collect water, while others say shortages are making it difficult to keep livestock.
Women interviewed described rising expenses, delayed benefit payments, education costs and loans that are difficult to repay.
A new state law provides for Woman Farmer Certificates; the government said more than 20 lakh women had applied.
- Who
- Women farmers and agricultural labourers in drought-hit Maharashtra, including families in the Marathwada region.
- What
- Drought has damaged crops and intensified women’s work fetching water, managing households and handling financial pressures.
- Where
- Maharashtra, including drought-affected areas such as Jalna, Beed, Latur and Dharashiv.
- When
- The state declared drought on September 26; Woman Farmer Certificates began being issued on October 2.
- Why
- Poor rainfall during the kharif crop season and the receding monsoon have contributed to crop losses and water shortages.
Government measures
Women farmers and advocates
Whether drought relief meets women’s needs
Government measures
The state activated measures including land revenue waivers and crop loan restructuring, and introduced Woman Farmer Certificates to improve women’s access to welfare programmes and credit.
Women farmers and advocates
Women interviewed and an advocacy group said relief does not adequately address women agricultural labourers’ specific needs, including water burdens, household costs, smaller debts and timely benefit payments.
Access to education support
Government measures
The article says women were told that examination fees would not be collected because of the drought.
Women farmers and advocates
Sonali Aditrao said her daughter’s college reported it had received no such order, and the family had to find money for the fee.
Key facts
- Drought declaration
- 265 of Maharashtra’s 358 talukas were declared drought-hit on September 26.
- Statewide extent
- The declaration covered areas across the state’s 36 districts.
- Women’s agricultural employment
- The article says 82% of Maharashtra’s rural female workforce works in agriculture, while fewer than one-fifth of operational landholdings are in women’s names.
- Woman Farmer Certificates
- Issuing began on October 2; the government said more than 20 lakh women had applied.
- Water collection
- One family described transporting two 1,000-litre tanks from a water storage facility 2 km away once a week.
- Daily farm wages
- Sonali Aditrao said her work on a neighbour’s sugarcane field earns her about Rs 300 a day.
- Requested support
- The Beed unit of Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch sought additional 10 kg ration supplies and timely scheme payments.
Quotes
Sonali Aditrao
A farm labourer in Karajkheda, Dharashiv district.
“I am stuck in this cycle of loans and repayment. I have no savings. Every time there is a health scare or any other emergency, like a crop failure, I have to take a loan. I spend Rs 6,000 a month to pay back these loans. This is unending, but I can’t afford to default.”
indianexpress.com
“Filling water and rationing it for all our daily needs has become a full-time job. My buffalo and its calf need about 30-50 litres of water a day. Even when I leave for work, my husband has to queue up to fill water. We have ended up losing one person’s wages.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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