‘Modi empowered women in every sector’
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Apr 16: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha today said the long-promised move to reserve 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is close to becoming a reality, describing it as a moment the country has “waited for a long time.”
Speaking at the women farmers’ conference at SKICC in Srinagar, Sinha credited the development to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The LG said he was very happy that, on the day of the conference, discussions on women’s reservation had begun in Parliament.
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“In the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, there are discussions on the promise of giving women 33% of the seats, and it will soon become a reality. The whole country has been waiting for this for a long time,” he said.
Sinha said that if a woman is oppressed in society or treated as a slave, then a man’s freedom should be considered incomplete, adding that the social and economic freedom of men is “organically linked to the social and economic freedom of women.” He described the Women Farmers’ Conference as “a milestone in history.”
The LG highlighted the everyday labour of women, saying that even if one pauses for a moment to think about any policy or scheme, it becomes clear that when villages and cities are asleep, “a mother and a sister are already working.”
He said she may be working in the fields, feeding animals, or taking care of her child, adding that she sustains the entire family. However, “often her contribution is not reflected in newspapers or the media. Without women’s power, every plate on this earth-especially in India-would be empty. Every person would be hungry,” he said.
Sinha said without hesitation that women feed the world and work harder than men. Citing studies, he said that Indian women farmers work about 33,000 to 36,000 hours a year, while men work about 1,860 hours in agriculture, and that 60 to 80 percent of Indian women contribute to agriculture. Referring to the Himalayan region, including Jammu and Kashmir, he said women’s working hours are much higher than men’s, with women working 3,485 hours in agriculture compared to 1,212 hours for men, indicating that women contribute the most to food security and the prosperity of families and society.
The LG said he was very happy that 2026 had been announced as the International Women Farmer Year, adding that he had been waiting for this for many years. He expressed hope that in 2026 the contribution of women in agriculture and allied sectors would be honestly recognised and their expectations fulfilled.
He said that about 51% of the global food production workforce is women, but added that, in reality, women not only in India but across the world are deprived of the means and financial support they need. He said that in many cases they do not have rights to land, were denied access to credit until a decade ago, and lack access to technology. “We have built the global food system on the basis of women’s power, but we have deprived them of being part of that prosperity,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he had empowered women not only in agriculture but in every sector of the country. He said that in the last decade, 68% of total loans amounting to Rs 14,72,000 crore were given to women, and that 73% of houses built under the Village Housing Scheme are in the name of women. Calling the International Women Farmer’s Year 2026 a great opportunity, Sinha said it sends a clear message that the development of women farmers, agriculture, and the rural sector is not just about progress but about creating it. He said it is a call for every Government, institution, and technical body to address the challenges faced by women farmers and present solutions systematically.
He stressed that equality must be ensured, noting that currently 33% of women farmers are unemployed while 48% are self-employed, and emphasised that they must be able to stand on their own feet. He called for extending various schemes to women in Jammu and Kashmir, including agricultural infrastructure, technology missions, rural livelihood initiatives, and farmer support programmes.
Referring to the Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP), Sinha said it was launched in 2022 with a budget of Rs 5,013 crore and includes 29 integrated projects aimed at increasing the contribution of agriculture and rural sectors to the region’s GDP fivefold. He said the impact of these projects is visible in agriculture, horticulture, dairy, and fisheries, and that the plan will increase milk production, improve farmers’ conditions, ensure sustainable development, and bring technology-driven changes.
In the dairy, he said Jammu and Kashmir is now a surplus state but lacks adequate processing capacity. “When I came here, we used to process 1 lakh litres of milk. Today, we are processing 3.5 lakh litres. Next year, we will process 5 lakh litres,” he said.
Providing figures on participation, the LG said 14,782 women farmers have been registered under various schemes, and that on June 20, 2024, JKS-CIP was officially launched, under which 5,428 women farmers have been registered. He added that more than 90,000 women farmers have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir, along with over 8,000 under national priority schemes, and emphasised the need to remove barriers and ensure equal access to resources while maintaining high participation of women in the sector.
On the occasion, the Lieutenant Governor felicitated the women agri-entrepreneurs. He also visited the stalls put up by IFFCO and various agri-entrepreneurs.
Javid Ahmad Dar, Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj and Cooperative; Dileep Singhani, Chairman IFFCO; K.J. Patel, Managing Director IFFCO; Yogender Kumar, Marketing Director IFFCO, Sartaj Ahmad Shah, Director Agriculture, Kashmir; women farmers & Agri-entrepreneurs, members of women self-help groups and women delegates participated in the conference.
Balwant Singh Mankotia, Member of Legislative Assembly from Chenani; Akshay Labroo, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar; Dr GV Sundeep Chakravarthy, SSP Srinagar; senior officials and Agriculture experts were also present.
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