Across rural India, women farmers remain central to food production but often lack access to financial protection. Stories like Lakshmi Rathiya’s show how tools such as crop insurance are helping women farmers better manage climate risks and safeguard their livelihoods.
Farming on the Climate Frontline
In a small village called Mauhar in Korba district, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, Lakshmi Rathiya tends to her two-acre farm. For more than a decade, her family’s food, income and future have depended on what grows from this land.
Korba is often recognised for its coal mines and thermal power plants. Yet beyond the smokestacks and industrial belts lies another reality. Rural communities here depend heavily on agriculture. Much of it is rain-fed. Irrigation facilities are limited. When the rains fail or fall too heavily, crops suffer. And when crops fail, entire households feel the impact.
Chhattisgarh is home to over 3.7 million farming families, most of them small and marginal farmers cultivating small plots of land. For women farmers like Lakshmi, agriculture is both livelihood and responsibility. A mother of three, she cultivates a 1.5-acre plot in a village in Rajnandgaon district, while her husband works seasonal construction jobs in the city and returns home only a few months each year. In his absence, Lakshmi makes most farming decisions, managing sowing, transplanting, weeding and harvesting while also caring for her family. When a household’s economic stability depends largely on the value of its crop and the outcome of each harvest, access to financial protection and support systems becomes critical.
When Weather Becomes a Financial Shock
Lakshmi has seen how unpredictable weather can undo months of labour. In 2017, parts of Chhattisgarh, including Korba, were declared drought-affected. Crops were damaged. Income vanished.
“When crops were damaged due to drought or excess rain, we had no financial support,” she recalls. “We had to manage everything on our own.”
Accessing Crop Insurance
In 2023, she enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), India’s national crop insurance scheme. The programme provides financial compensation when crops are damaged by natural calamities, extreme weather events or pest attacks. By paying a small premium of ₹6,000 (approx. 65 USD), Lakshmi secured coverage for her Kharif crop.
Unfortunately, that season, excess rainfall damaged her harvest. Through the scheme, she received a claim settlement of ₹97,956 (approximat $1,066 USD). The payout allowed her to recover her losses and prepare for the next sowing cycle.
“The support helped me continue farming without taking loans,” she says. “Now I tell other women in the village to enrol. With the crop insurance app, we can see our claim details and get updates on our phones.”
Expanding Access for Women Farmers
Women’s participation under the crop insurance scheme has crossed 22% of total enrolment nationwide and continues to rise through sustained outreach efforts. In Chhattisgarh, their participation stands at around 15–16% of insured farmers, meaning roughly 1 in every 6 to 7 beneficiaries is a woman. As climate risks intensify globally, financial tools like insurance are becoming essential for safeguarding livelihoods, particularly for women who are often disproportionately affected by economic shocks.
Since 2018, UNDP and India’s Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare have partnered to strengthen awareness and implementation of the crop insurance programme. The focus has been on ensuring that small and marginal farmers, especially women, understand their coverage and can access claims efficiently. Efforts have included field-level outreach, simplified communication and digital tools that improve transparency in claim tracking.
Today, the scheme has reached over 780 million farmer applications across 20 States and Union Territories, covering 411 districts. In a country where agriculture remains a primary source of livelihood for millions, such financial protection mechanisms play a critical role in building resilience.
Strengthening Resilience for Women Farmers
Lakshmi’s experience reflects a wider shift underway in India’s agricultural landscape. As climate variability increases, small and marginal farmers face growing uncertainty from erratic rainfall, droughts and extreme weather events. For women farmers, who often have limited access to formal financial systems, these risks can be even harder to absorb.
Programmes such as PMFBY are helping address this gap by providing financial protection when crops fail. Greater awareness, digital tools and field-level outreach are also making it easier for farmers to understand their coverage and track claims.
Securing Livelihoods for the Future
For Lakshmi, farming will always involve uncertainty. The monsoon may arrive late. Rain may fall too heavily. Pests may spread unexpectedly. But with insurance coverage in place, a damaged crop no longer means starting over from zero.
As more farmers become aware of crop insurance and access these protections, financial tools like these can play an important role in strengthening rural livelihoods. For women farmers in particular, access to such safeguards helps ensure they can continue investing in their farms, supporting their families and contributing to India’s food security.
