Why Women at the Center of Food Systems Change Everything

I have been thinking a lot about the recent coverage of women’s roles in rural livelihoods — from dairying to backyard pond culture — and how it resonates with my long-standing belief that social progress requires both compassion and practical capacity-building. Two pieces that brought this into sharp relief for me were the BusinessLine commentary on women in dairying and the ICAR–CIFRI report on backyard pond fish culture in the Sundarbans. Both illustrate a simple but powerful idea: when we invest in people — especially women at the margins — we change the trajectory of entire communities (Uplift women in dairying; ICAR-CIFRI Empowerment through backyard pond culture).

What I find most promising

There are several aspects of these initiatives that make me hopeful — not because they are new, but because they combine the right elements in a way that can actually stick.

• Women-centered training and recognition of prior learning: The shift from unpaid or low-paid labour to skilled roles begins when learning is validated and expanded. Formal recognition, literacy plus vocational training, and women-only training spaces reduce barriers and build confidence (Uplift women in dairying).

• Hands-on, science-backed knowledge transfer: ICAR–CIFRI’s approach — demonstrating pond management, feed optimisation, and fish health — is precisely the kind of applied science that turns an idea (a pond, a cow) into a sustainable livelihood (ICAR-CIFRI Empowerment through backyard pond culture).

• Targeting the most vulnerable: Programs deliberately reaching scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and rural women are aligned with the moral core of development — to serve those furthest behind first. That targeting multiplies social returns because it interrupts cycles of exclusion.

• Cooperative and collective models: Women-led cooperatives, SHGs, and community groups turn individual assets into marketable enterprises and share both risk and reward. The Gujarat dairy model referenced in the dairy article gives a clear example of upward mobility when financial support and leadership training are combined (Uplift women in dairying).

• Integration of tradition with modern methods: Respecting local knowledge while introducing refrigeration, AI for breeding, fodder conservation, or improved feed yields a hybrid that communities can own. This is not a replacement of culture but an enhancement.

• Multi-dimensional support: Credit, scholarships, insurance, market linkages, and technical backstopping together reduce the friction that often kills good ideas before they scale.

• Entrepreneurship pathways and practical project templates: My earlier posts and practical guides on dairy entrepreneurship show concrete, bank-viable project economics and inspirational local examples (for instance, project-cost estimates, turnover and profit projections, and the Ramilaben case of scale). Making such Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and simple business templates freely available — machine lists, area requirements, startup costs and expected margins — lowers entry barriers for aspiring women entrepreneurs in dairying and aquaculture (Dairy Business : Calling Entrepreneurs).

How I think we should scale these programs — a practical roadmap

Scaling is not just about replicating a pilot everywhere; it is about preserving what makes a model work while adapting to new contexts. Here’s how I would approach it:

1. Start with clusters, not scattershot pilots

• Map high-potential districts (states with concentrations of dairy and small-scale aquaculture) and create 20–50 village clusters as scaling units. Clusters allow shared infrastructure (chilling units, mobile technicians) and concentrated training.

1. Build modular, accredited curricula

• Create short, stackable credentials: basic animal care, dairy technologist assistant, refrigeration mechanic, pond management, entrepreneurship. Recognise prior learning so existing labour can quickly upgrade.

1. Deploy mobile training + digital extension

• Mobile training units and “train-the-trainer” models extend reach. Combine in-person hands-on modules with low-bandwidth digital content (video, IVR, local language apps) so women can revisit lessons.

1. Link finance and risk management from day one

• Pair microgrants, microcredit, crop/livestock insurance and indexed disaster support. Work with NABARD-style institutions and community credit unions to design gender-sensitive products (small collateral-free loans, flexible repayment tied to milk cycles).

1. Strengthen last-mile infrastructure and services

• Invest in cold chains, bulk chillers, local milk collection points, and refrigeration service technicians. For aquaculture, ensure hatchery linkages and feed supply.

1. Foster market linkages and value addition

• Move beyond commodity sale to value-add: community-level pasteurisation, branded village dairies, cheese/curd production, or smoked/processed fish—so communities capture more margin.

1. Institutional partnerships and policy levers

• Align with state dairy federations, ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, NDDB, and public extension. Advocate for gender-sensitive dairy policy: cooperative membership rights, land-use recognition, and representation in management (Uplift women in dairying).

1. Use data and adaptive learning

• Define simple KPIs (women with certified skills, income uplift, cooperative membership, milk yield per animal, survival/growth in ponds). Run rapid learning cycles: pilot, measure, refine, scale.

1. Leverage private sector and philanthropies strategically

• Private firms can provide tech, cold chains, processing capacity; philanthropies and CSR can underwrite patient capital and the early cost of training. Public funding can focus on the social goods — literacy, basic infrastructure, and insurance.

1. Tackle social constraints explicitly

• Address time poverty (childcare hubs during training), safety, mobility constraints, and intra-household decision dynamics through community dialogues and male ally programs.

1. Provide free, bank-ready DPRs and entrepreneurship toolkits

• Publish standardized, downloadable DPR templates for common dairy and backyard aquaculture ventures: clear startup costs, machine/equipment lists, area requirements, monthly raw-material schedules, revenue and profit projections, and sample loan structures. These templates should be designed in consultation with banks and NABARD so aspiring entrepreneurs can approach finance with credible plans. Free access to such DPRs — combined with mentorship and handholding in the initial loan application — would dramatically lower the barrier to entry for women-led enterprises and accelerate self-employment (Dairy Business : Calling Entrepreneurs).

A few risks to watch and how to mitigate them

• Technology without trust: Introduce tech via trusted local intermediaries and peer testimonials.
• Market volatility: Build diversified income streams (dairy + poultry + fish or seasonal crops) and promote saving mechanisms.
• Tokenism in leadership: Don’t appoint women to committees as a checkbox — invest in leadership training and pathways to real authority.

Why this matters beyond income

When women move from unpaid or low-paid labour into recognised, skilled, and market-linked roles, the effects ripple: children’s nutrition improves, school attendance rises, households invest more in health, and community norms evolve. That is why I see these interventions as moral and practical imperatives. They are not just programs delivering outputs; they are instruments that reshape social possibility.

The Ireland food-systems work and global commitments to nutrition underline that gender-focused rural transformation is also central to climate resilience and food security — it is a planetary priority as much as a local one (Food Systems Transformation | Ireland.ie).

I am encouraged by the evidence and even more by the humility of the approaches I have read: start small, listen, combine science with local wisdom, and design for women’s realities. That is the kind of progress that endures.

---

Regards,
[Hemen Parekh] Any questions? Feel free to ask my Virtual Avatar at hemenparekh.ai