Rural women are the key agents for development in the agriculture sector. They play an important role in achieving environmental and social changes that are required for sustainable development. But as women have limited access to finances, health care and education, they face many challenges. Empowering women in the agricultural sector is essential. This is not just for the well-being of individuals, families and rural communities, but also for overall economic productivity. This is necessary because there is a large presence of women in the agricultural workforce worldwide.
As farmers, labourers, and entrepreneurs, women play an important role in the agriculture sector. They also help in the development of rural economies. Women are involved in managing land and water. They collect water and fodder, provide critical support to rainfed/dryland farms, take care of and manage livestock. They also take care of areas where the soil is unproductive, rains are erratic/insufficient, and the men have migrated in search of work. This adds to their responsibilities. They also have to earn additional incomes through agriculture and allied activities, minor forest produce, and local enterprises. Even today, women continue to face constraints in accessing land, credit, technology, agricultural inputs, services, and market opportunities.
With an objective to aid women in the sector, the National Rural Livelihood Mission aims to empower poor women farmers and increase their participation in order to improve their productivity. This mission also aims to help them attain sustainable livelihoods by enhancing their knowledge, skills and capacities. One of its sub-components, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana has helped women in self-help groups (SHGs) access resources and services for enhanced agricultural productivity.
An enabling environment that will strengthen women comprises of innovative skill sets and ICT-based technologies. This will help in understanding women’s needs and reduce their hard work. The woman farmer’s enhanced role as a primary producer and higher participation in decision-making will lead to the recognition of women’s contributions toward the overall development of the rural economy.
Women are predominant at all levels of the agricultural value chain, be it pre-harvest, production, post-harvest processing, packaging or even marketing. This has helped increase productivity in agriculture and in bringing down gender disparity. An ‘inclusive transformative agricultural policy’ should be brought in that aims to raise the productivity of small farm holdings, integrates women as active agents in rural transformation and engages men and women in extension services with gender expertise.
As women are actively contributing and increasing the agricultural output, it will also increase the inflow of agricultural produce in mandis. The increased inflow also increases the workload for commission agents in mandis. Commission agents will have to invest more time and effort in mandi accounting. Understanding the concerns of commission agents, Bijak which is India’s Number 1 Agritrading App, came up with a mandi accounting solution called ChargeERP. It is aimed to help commission agents with mandi accounting activities like bill generation, managing inventory and keeping track of payments. This ultimately allows them to invest more time in growing their business.
ChargeERP is the solution
ChargeERP accounting software has been designed keeping in mind the daily interactions of commission agents in agricultural mandis. It is a cloud-based accounting software introduced with the core aim of reducing the agent’s workload. ChargeERP is the easiest, fastest and most secure mandi accounting software available in India. One of the many benefits of this platform is that it can be accessed from anywhere and from multiple devices. It provides data security with end-to-end encryption. Plus, it doesn’t require any kind of technical or accounting expertise.
If you are looking to explore more about this next-level accounting software, feel free to dial +91 9311341199 or visit www.chargeerp.com, and request your free demo today. We also suggest that you follow us on Facebook for regular updates. You can also view the latest instructional videos on the ChargeERP YouTube channel.