Maharashtra Recognises Women Farmers Beyond Land Ownership

Maharashtra’s Women Farmer Empowerment Act, 2026 has created a formal route to recognise women engaged in agriculture and allied activities as farmers even when land is not registered in their names. The state Agriculture Department’s Woman Farmer Certificate portal provides online application, eligibility checking, tracking and certificate download. The certification framework recognises actual engagement in farming rather than land title alone, and includes crop cultivation, seed production, livestock, fisheries, animal husbandry and beekeeping. The Act also provides for a Women Farmer Empowerment Council, empowerment cells, monitoring structures, a database and a dedicated fund.

The certificate can support access to credit, crop loans, crop insurance, subsidy schemes, training, modern agricultural guidance, seed and fertiliser programmes, storage, transport and market linkage, subject to the eligibility rules of each scheme. Rejected applicants can appeal within 120 days, with a decision required within 30 days. This matters because women’s farm work is often larger than their recorded land control. National data cited in 2026 show that about 80% of rural women are engaged in agriculture and allied sectors, while female-operated holdings remain far lower.

Maharashtra-specific analysis reported that 82% of the rural female workforce is engaged in agriculture, while women operate about 15. 5% of farmland. The Act’s impact will be measurable through certificates issued, appeals resolved and actual access to credit, insurance, inputs and markets. The law also intersects with digital agriculture because many farmer databases are linked to land records.

A certificate based on actual farm work can help identify women who cultivate, manage livestock, process produce or run farm enterprises even when land ownership remains in another family member’s name.

Original source references: Maharashtra Agriculture Department; Indian Express, July 2026; Mongabay India, 1 October 2026.

Rural Development Today | 2 October 2026 | Development Connects | Kallol Saha