Empowering Women for Agriculture's Future in Sindh

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, contributing approximately 23% to the national GDP and employing around 37% of the country’s labor force (PBS, 2023). In rural Sindh, where nearly 70% of the population relies on agriculture for their livelihoods, women are at the heart of farming communities. They contribute between 60% and 80% of the labor involved in core agricultural tasks such as sowing, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, post-harvest processing, and livestock management (FAO, 2022). Despite their indispensable role, women’s contributions remain largely unrecognized and undervalued within both household and institutional frameworks.

Most rural women in Sindh work as unpaid family laborers or are engaged informally, lacking access to land ownership, credit, extension services, agricultural training, and fair wages. Cultural constraints, legal exclusion, limited mobility, and low literacy rates further entrench their marginalization. According to UN Women (2022), less than 5% of rural women in Sindh own agricultural land, and fewer than 10% have access to formal banking or agricultural support services. As a result, they remain trapped in cycles of poverty, despite being key contributors to household food security and rural economies.

This research explores the pivotal role women play in sustaining Sindh’s agricultural sector, while critically examining the socio-economic, legal, and institutional barriers that hinder their full participation and productivity. It argues that empowering women in agriculture is not only a matter of gender equity, but a strategic necessity for improving food security, enhancing agricultural efficiency, and accelerating economic development. Key strategies for empowerment include implementing gender-responsive agricultural policies, expanding access to microfinance and land rights, strengthening rural education, and promoting women’s participation in cooperatives and decision-making bodies. Recognizing and investing in female farmers is vital for building a more inclusive, resilient, and productive rural economy in Pakistan.

The Role of Women in Sindh’s Agriculture

In rural Sindh, women form the backbone of agricultural labor, participating extensively in crop production, livestock rearing, and post-harvest processing. Despite their vital contributions, their roles often go unrecognized in official data and remain undervalued in economic terms. Women are actively involved in nearly every stage of crop production. They assist in land preparation, including clearing and plowing, particularly on smallholder farms where mechanization is limited or absent. During the sowing and transplanting seasons, especially for rice and vegetables, women work long hours, often knee-deep in muddy fields. They also handle manual weeding and irrigation tasks, contributing significantly to crop maintenance. At harvest time, women lead in threshing, drying, cleaning, and storing the produce. According to a 2023 study by the Sindh Agriculture Department, women contribute over 60% of the labor in major crops such as wheat, cotton, and rice, yet their input is largely excluded from labor force surveys and wage assessments.

Beyond crops, women in Sindh play a crucial role in livestock rearing, which is often a primary or supplementary income source for rural households. Their responsibilities include feeding and milking animals, managing fodder, cleaning animal shelters, administering basic healthcare, and producing dairy products like yogurt, butter, and ghee. However, due to patriarchal land and inheritance systems, less than 5% of women own livestock or have access to veterinary support and market linkages (ILO, 2022). Their work is often unpaid and carried out within the family structure, leaving them economically invisible.

Women also contribute to small-scale rural enterprises such as embroidery, basket weaving, food preservation, and the informal sale of eggs, milk, and vegetables. These ventures help supplement household income but are constrained by limited market access, financial exclusion, and reliance on exploitative middlemen. Despite their productivity, women continue to face barriers that limit their economic empowerment in agriculture.

Challenges Faced by Women in Agriculture

Women in agriculture in Sindh face numerous intersecting challenges that hinder their full participation and recognition in the sector. One of the most persistent issues is limited landownership. Despite Islamic laws granting women inheritance rights, customary practices overwhelmingly favor male heirs, leaving less than 2% of women in Sindh with formal land titles (World Bank, 2023). Without ownership documentation, women are excluded from accessing agricultural loans, government subsidy schemes, or support programs that require proof of landholding. This structural marginalization perpetuates dependency and limits women’s ability to invest in their farms or secure financial independence.

The lack of access to credit and agricultural inputs further deepens this inequality. State Bank of Pakistan (2023) data shows that 98% of agricultural loans in Sindh are granted to men. Women are often left without access to essential resources like quality seeds, fertilizers, or mechanized tools, which are typically distributed through male-dominated cooperatives. In addition, most agricultural machinery is ergonomically designed for male users, while innovations in climate-resilient farming rarely reach women.

Women are also systematically excluded from agricultural extension services. Only 10% of extension workers in Sindh are women, and training sessions are frequently inaccessible due to cultural norms that restrict women’s mobility, low literacy rates (30% in rural areas), and male-centric training venues (FAO, 2023). As a result, women miss out on technical knowledge, limiting their ability to innovate or improve yields.

Wage discrimination and labor exploitation are rampant. Female agricultural workers earn 30–40% less than men for equivalent labor (PBS, 2023), and many work unpaid as family helpers. They lack access to social security, health coverage, or labor protections, making their employment precarious and undervalued.

Climate change has also intensified their workload. In drought-prone regions like Tharparkar, women spend up to eight hours a day gathering water and fodder, increasing their exposure to heat stress without adequate protective gear. Nevertheless, community-led initiatives are creating change. In Umerkot, women supported by SRSO have formed dairy and poultry cooperatives, boosting household incomes. In Badin, AKRSP’s micro-loans have enabled women to start vegetable farming businesses, with some now supplying produce to Karachi’s markets. These examples show that with the right support, rural women can become powerful agents of agricultural resilience and economic transformation.

Empowering Women in Agriculture: Policy Recommendations

Empowering women in agriculture is vital for achieving food security, rural development, and gender equality in Pakistan. In Sindh, where women contribute over 60% of agricultural labor, their contributions remain largely informal, underpaid, and invisible in policy frameworks. To change this, a range of gender-sensitive reforms must be implemented at legal, institutional, and grassroots levels. Legal reforms are essential to ensure that women can own and inherit land. Enforcing Islamic inheritance laws and introducing joint land titles for married couples under government support programs would grant women greater control over agricultural resources and improve access to financial services.

Improving access to credit and inputs is another critical step. Financial institutions should introduce targeted microcredit schemes, such as the Khushhali Bank’s Gender Finance Initiative, to provide women with the capital needed to invest in farming. Additionally, subsidies for essential resources like quality seeds, fertilizers, and solar-powered irrigation systems must be made accessible to female farmers, particularly those in remote areas.

Education and extension services need a gender-inclusive approach. Mobile training units and a dedicated cadre of female extension officers can provide women with agricultural knowledge, from crop management to market access. These efforts should be supported by adult literacy programs and media campaigns that highlight the success of women in agriculture, helping change societal attitudes.

Ensuring fair wages and direct market access is also key. The establishment of women-led cooperatives can empower female farmers to bypass exploitative middlemen, while digital platforms such as TajirNow can connect them with urban consumers and e-commerce markets. Collectively, these strategies not only address structural barriers but also unlock the full potential of women as agents of agricultural innovation and sustainability. With inclusive policies, women can help transform Sindh’s rural economy and contribute meaningfully to Pakistan’s broader development goals.

Conclusion

The future of agriculture in Sindh, and by extension, Pakistan, cannot be fully realized without recognizing, valuing, and investing in the women who sustain it. Despite forming the backbone of the rural agricultural workforce, women in Sindh continue to face entrenched socio-economic barriers that limit their potential and contributions. From landlessness and financial exclusion to lack of technical training and wage discrimination, these challenges perpetuate gender inequality and hinder overall agricultural productivity.

However, evidence shows that when women are provided with access to land, credit, inputs, education, and fair markets, they become powerful drivers of food security, climate resilience, and economic development. Successful grassroots initiatives, such as cooperatives and microfinance programs, demonstrate that targeted support can uplift entire communities. Therefore, empowering women in agriculture must move beyond rhetoric and become a cornerstone of Pakistan’s rural development strategy. By mainstreaming gender into agricultural policies, reforming land rights, expanding inclusive extension services, and promoting women’s leadership in cooperatives and decision-making platforms, Pakistan can unlock a transformative opportunity. It is not just a matter of equity, it is a strategic imperative for building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural future. The time has come to shift from invisibility to empowerment and ensure that the women of Sindh are not just laborers, but leaders in agriculture.

References: FAO; World Bank; PBS; ILO; Sindh Rural Support Organization; UN Women; State Bank of Pakistan

Please note that the views expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of any organization.

The writer is affiliated with the Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam Sindh, Pakistan and can be reached at mahashaikh935@gmail.com

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