Women Farmers’ Empowerment Bill passed unanimously in Maharashtra Assembly

In a landmark move, the Maharashtra Assembly on Thursday, July 2, 2026, unanimously passed the Women Farmers Empowerment Bill to ensure that women farmers have access to welfare schemes that have traditionally benefited men. It will later be tabled in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

This is the first law of its kind in the country and recognizes women engaged in agriculture and allied activities such as fishing, animal husbandry, poultry farming and harvesting of forest products.

“This will bring transformative change to the lives of lakhs of women farmers in Maharashtra. Agriculture is not only a source of livelihood but also a symbol of hard work, culture and tradition. Despite working shoulder to shoulder with male farmers in every aspect of agriculture, women have never been officially recognized as farmers. The bill aims to correct this historical injustice,” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said in the House of Representatives on Thursday (July 2). he said.

During a debate on the bill, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharana paid tribute to MS Swaminathan for his contribution to Indian agriculture. Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) played an important role during the preparation of this bill. The organization held consultations with stakeholders and participated in the defense of initial legislative concepts.

Opposition leaders also supported the bill and voted in favor of it. Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said the law would help women achieve their rights if it recognizes their contributions. He called for strengthening the agricultural sector. NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil called for family farms to be jointly owned by women. Other leaders also asked the government if women would now own farm land.

Basic provisions

The bill will identify women farmers by giving them a Woman Farmer Certificate. It will enable them to access rights, benefits, subsidies, services and credit, regardless of whether they own land or not.

Once enacted, the law is expected to address the historical systematic lack of recognition of women farmers and landless laborers engaged in joint activities such as fishing, animal husbandry, poultry and forest produce collection.

The bill provides for the creation of a database of women farmers and the creation of the Maharashtra State Women Farmers Fund for them. It consists of a three-tiered institutional framework comprising Women Farmers Empowerment Council, State Monitoring Committees and Women Farmers Empowerment Cell. The Women Farmers Empowerment Council will include the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Minister of Agriculture, among others, as ex officio members.

According to the bill, women farmers will be given a ‘Female Farmer Certificate’. This will be his official credential that will give him access to government programs, subsidies, corporate finance and market support. Certificates will be issued by Gram Sabhas or urban local bodies. An objection mechanism has been activated for rejected applications.

Women Farmer Support Officers will be appointed from among the existing officials at the district and taluka level. They will assist women farmers in obtaining certification, accessing outreach programs, and adopting improved agricultural practices.

The government said the aim of the bill was to eliminate historical injustice against women. “Agricultural policies, programs and extension systems are largely gender neutral. However, the requirement of land ownership as a prerequisite for access to most agricultural programs and basic rights has made such programs inaccessible to many women farmers, as only a very small percentage of these women own agricultural land. Therefore, women who cultivate family or community land without holding formal titles to the land are often counted as agricultural workers rather than farmers. Systemic lack of recognition of women farmers and their agricultural labor is significant and discriminatory in access to schemes, credit and markets.” “It leads to other forms of exclusion, including, but not limited to,” he said.