Women Leading Organic Farming in Karnataka — Stories and Resources

There is an injustice sitting at the centre of Indian agriculture that almost nobody talks about publicly. Women perform approximately 70% of all farm labour in India — transplanting, weeding, harvesting, post-harvest processing, seed saving. And yet only 12% of agricultural land is owned by women.

They do most of the work. They hold almost none of the title.

Organic farming, and specifically the collective model, is one of the most practical tools available to change this equation — not by waiting for policy, but by building economic power from the ground up.

The SHG Entry Point

Self Help Groups (SHGs) are the most accessible entry point for women farmers who want to organise. An SHG is simply a group of 10–15 women who meet regularly, pool small savings (even ₹50–100 per week), and collectively access credit at rates unavailable to individuals.

A well-functioning SHG linked to NABARD can access credit at 7% interest — compared to 24–36% from moneylenders. For a farmer who currently borrows for seeds and inputs from a local trader at exploitative rates, this alone is transformative.

The leap from SHG to organic farming collective is smaller than it looks. An SHG already has the group structure. Adding a shared desi cow, a shared jeevamrutha preparation space, and a shared WhatsApp consumer group is a natural extension.

The Kudumbashree Model

Kerala’s Kudumbashree programme — which started in 1998 as a poverty reduction initiative — has become the largest women’s SHG network in India, with 4.5 million members managing over 300,000 micro-enterprises. Its agricultural wing organises women’s farming collectives that collectively lease land, grow crops, and share income.

Karnataka has been expanding similar models. The Women’s Development Corporation of Karnataka has worked with district administrations to support women’s SHG farming clusters — particularly in Mandya, Mysuru, and Shivamogga districts.

The Kudumbashree model works because it does not ask women to farm alone. It provides group support, shared labour, collective marketing, and a structure for decision-making that does not depend on any one person’s land title or credit access.

Government Schemes for Women Farmers

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP): A central government programme specifically designed to make women farmers more productive, more sustainable, and more food-secure. It funds training in organic methods, seed saving, water conservation, and market access — with special focus on women-headed households.

PM Kisan for women: Women farmers with land in their name are eligible for PM Kisan’s ₹6,000 annual income support. If land is jointly held with a spouse, the registration should include both names for full benefit access.

NABARD credit for women SHGs: NABARD’s SHG-Bank Linkage Programme has disbursed over ₹1.5 lakh crore to women’s groups across India. In Karnataka, this credit has funded everything from drip irrigation to food processing units.

Organic Mandya’s Women Farmers

Within the Organic Mandya network, women’s groups have formed in seven villages across Mandya and Mysuru districts. These groups share a desi cow, prepare jeevamrutha together on a weekly schedule, and sell through a shared direct consumer channel to Mysuru city.

The income split is transparent and agreed upon: 80% to the individual farmer based on volume contributed, 10% to a group fund for maintenance of shared assets, 10% to a social security pool for emergencies.

In one group in Maddur taluk, 12 women collectively earn ₹2,80,000 per year from a 6-acre shared organic vegetable plot — averaging ₹23,000 per woman from the collective crop alone, on top of their individual farm income.

Seed Saving as Entry Point

For women who are not yet ready for a full SHG or collective, seed saving circles are a lower-commitment starting point. A seed saving circle is simply a group of 5–10 farmers who each save seeds from one or two traditional varieties and exchange with each other each season.

This practice does three things simultaneously: it preserves desi varieties, it eliminates the annual seed purchase cost, and it builds the trust and regular meeting habit that can later become an SHG.

Traditional seed knowledge in Karnataka — which varieties to save from, when to harvest for seed, how to dry and store — lives almost entirely with women farmers. Seed saving circles are a way to honour and organise that knowledge before it is lost.

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