30% agriculture budget to be spent on women farmers

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Wednesday said that 30 per cent of his ministry`s budget would be invested on the country`s women farmers.

"There will be at least 30 per cent of the budget allocation for women beneficiaries in all ongoing schemes, programmes and development activities," he said in his address at the National Consultation of Women Farmers, organised by the National Commission for Women, UN Women and Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch, a forum for women farmers` rights.

In the consultation, women farmers and their collectives from 24 states across India shared a comprehensive framework for establishing gender responsive laws, institutions, policies and programmes in the agriculture sector with the ministry.

Singh said that the ministry would be initiating women centric activities to ensure benefits of various beneficiary-oriented programs/schemes reach them.

"We will be focusing on women self-help group to connect them to micro-credit through capacity building activities and to provide information and ensuring their representation in different decision-making bodies," he added.