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, aimed at recognising women farmers so they get access to welfare schemes which have traditionally benefited men. It will next be tabled in the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

This is the first of its kind legislation in the country, and it gives recognition to women who are engaged in agriculture and allied activities like fisheries, livestock rearing, poultry farming, and collection of forest produce.

“This will bring transformative change to the lives of lakhs of women farmers in Maharashtra. Agriculture is not merely a means of livelihood, but a symbol of hard work, culture and tradition. Despite working shoulder-to-shoulder with the male farmers in every aspect of cultivation, women have never been officially recognised as farmers. The Bill seeks to correct this historic injustice,” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said on the floor of the House on Thursday (July 2).

During a discussion on the Bill, Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharana paid tributes to M.S. Swaminathan for his contribution to Indian agriculture. Chennai-based M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) has played a key role during the drafting of this Bill. The organisation had arranged stakeholder consultations and had participated in advocating for the initial legislative concepts.

The Opposition leaders too supported the Bill and voted in its favour. Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said it will help women get their rights once the law recognises their contribution. He called for the strengthening of agriculture sector. NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil called for co-ownership of the family farms by women. Other leaders also asked the government if it will now make women owners of the farm land.

Key provisions

The Bill will identify women farmers by issuing them Women Farmers Certificates. It will enable them to get access to entitlements, benefits, subsidies, services and credit, irrespective of whether they own land.

Once enacted, the law is expected to address the historic systemic non-recognition of women farmers and landless labourers who are involved in allied activities like fisheries, livestock rearing, poultry farming and collection of forest produce

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

Under this Bill, a woman farmer will be issued a ‘Woman Farmer Certificate’. It will be her official identity document, which will enable her to get access to government schemes, subsidies, institutional finance and market support. The certificates will be issued by Gram Sabhas or urban local bodies. An appeal mechanism has been put in place for the rejected applications.

Women Farmer Support Officers will be appointed at the district and taluka levels from among existing officials. They will assist women farmers in obtaining certificates, accessing welfare schemes and adopting improved agricultural practices.

The government has said that the purpose of the Bill is to do away with the historic injustice against women. “The agricultural policies, schemes, and extension systems are largely gender-neutral. However, the requirement of land ownership as a precondition for access to most agricultural schemes and underlying entitlements has rendered such schemes inaccessible to many women farmers, since only a very small percentage of these women own agricultural land. As such, women who cultivate family or community land without holding formal titles to the land are often counted as agricultural labourers rather than farmers. This systemic non-recognition of women farmers and their agricultural labour is significant and leads to other forms of exclusion, including, but not limited to discrimination in access to schemes, credit and markets,” it stated.