Women Steering Change, One Tractor At A Time

For Sangeeta Pingale, her father was no less enlightened than any man she had met in her life. Despite having no formal education, he encouraged his daughter to drive the tractor at a time when this was frowned upon, enabling her to master the skill by the time she got married at 18. "He was not educated, but was modern in his thinking," remembers Pingale, reflecting on the decades since she left her maternal home for the sedate life of a housewife.

As a child, she depended on her father's steadfast support even as neighbours and villagers gossiped about and mocked her. But circumstances changed after her marriage, which forced her to give up driving and focus on the daily chores of her husband's household. It was only in 2016, nearly a decade after her husband's demise in 2007, that she returned to farming, following a family division of property.

Based out of Nashik, India's grape capital, Sangeeta has been managing her 13-acre grape farm for the past eight years. Today she earns Rs 40 lakh, of which Rs 25 lakh goes into running the farm, netting her a profit of Rs 15 lakh. "When I first took over, neighbours—especially men— were skeptical and spoke negatively about me. Now, they encourage their wives to use tractors, saying, 'If Sangeeta can do it, why can't you?'"

As a single mother, the tractor has saved her time and labour costs, allowing her to invest in her children's education and take care of her mother-in-law. "My entire farm work is managed with a tractor. Without it, things would have never been this simple," she says.

A vineyard requires continuous pesticide spraying for two months in October and December. Without a tractor, this would need four to five labourers, costing Rs 500-800 per head per day, plus transportation costs. "What used to take five hours with four labourers, is now done in just 30 minutes with a tractor," she explained. Sangeeta Pingale is not the only one who is using technology to overcome the traditional disadvantages that women face when it comes to tasks that demand physical strength.

Gangavva Binhal, Koppal, Karnataka

Gangavva Binhal from Koppal in Karnataka watched her family members struggle to cultivate their land using oxen, dreaming of the day she could help them with a tractor. When the family finally bought a second-hand tractor for Rs 60,000, she wasted no time in learning how to drive it. Unlike in the case of Pingale, the land that Gangavva tilled was not in her name, it belonged to her brothers.

Even as they gave up on farming after their father’s death, she was not ready to forsake the five acre plot that had provided sustenance to her and her family for so many years. Gangavva first climbed aboard the tractor in 2013, pouring her heart, soul, and trust into the land. The soil, which had supported her ancestors through countless hardships, did not disappoint, rewarding her dedication with one bountiful harvest after another.

Soon, the family’s landholding started increasing, initially to eight acres. Having tasted success, Gangavva insisted on buying a higher HP tractor. Today, thanks to the never-say-die attitude of this 31-year-old, the family’s landholding has increased to 25 acres, home to crops such as moong dal, groundnut, chilli, onions, and coriander. Gangavva attributes her success to the tractor.

Without the machine, she points out, there is no way she could have carried on when her siblings gave up. For this reason, she tried her best to introduce the potential of the tractor to other women in the village. “Whenever women labourers come to my farm, I teach them how to drive tractors, helping them overcome their fears and diffidence,” she said.

Ask her about her reward for working so hard through the years, and she will point to only one thing – the respect with which her family, and indeed, the entire village, look at her today.

Rakshitha Thimmashetty, Kabbaligere, Karnataka.

Our third story is that of 18-year-old Rakshitha Thimmashetty from Kabbaligere, Karnataka. Rakshitha dropped out of school at the age of 15, to support her father on their two-acre farm where they grow millets like ragi, kodo, and jowar.

To make ends meet, she learnt how to drive the tractor, and today, spends up to eight hours a day atop one. Having missed out on education herself, she is keen on making sure nothing disrupts her younger sister’s schooling. "I love driving tractors and never see it as a burden," Rakshitha said. "I'm setting a trend for other girls in my village,” she added. These three women are the exceptions.

Mostly, women in Indian agriculture are yet to enjoy the fruits of mechanisation, despite the existence of government schemes aimed at addressing this discrepancy. For example, the Union government’s Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) scheme provides subsidies of 50-80% on agricultural equipment, including tractors, with priority given to women farmers.

The scheme aims to make farm machinery more accessible, boosting productivity and reducing operational costs. Besides the government, tractor manufacturers have also launched schemes to promote the adoption of mechanisation among women farmers. In 2017, Mahindra launched "Prerna," a programme designed to enhance women's participation in agricultural mechanisation.

The initiative offered comprehensive training in tractor and farm equipment operation, equipping women with the skills necessary to boost their farming efficiency. "The biggest gap is the lack of data on women's participation in mechanisation," said an agricultural expert who requested anonymity. One of the reasons behind this may be the low share of agricultural land owned by women in India.

Despite accounting for 63% of India's agricultural workforce, they own just 14% of the agricultural land. "Since women are not legally recognised as farmers without land ownership, they often miss out on financial and government support, even if they actively work on farms," the expert pointed out. Even in many cases where women own land and receive the subsidy, the machine may still be used by her husband, son, or brother instead.

"When tractors and other machines are bought, they are often intended for men to use. However, when manual labour is needed, families usually rely on women. This is why greater technology adoption is essential in helping women operate machinery instead of doing manual work," she added. The expert pointed out that biggest reason why women are not able to accept technology is the gender stereotype. “Coming out of the mindset that women can’t run machines, is very important,” she said.