In a landmark move, the Maharashtra Cabinet has approved draft Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill, 2026, which will legally recognise women as independent farmers, regardless of their land ownership status, and grant them equal access to welfare schemes, subsidies and credit.The draft proposes “women farmer certificates” to help landless women engaged in agriculture and allied sectors, such as dairy and fisheries, access institutional credit, subsidies, and agricultural extension services. The certification process will involve gram sabhas or urban local bodies, with an appeal mechanism for rejected applications.The Bill will be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session of the state legislature. “Women contribute more than 81 per cent of the workforce in agriculture in Maharashtra. This legislation seeks to ensure that women engaged in agriculture and allied activities receive recognition, rights and opportunities. The draft looks at improving access to credit, technology, markets, crop insurance, agricultural subsidies and social security benefits,” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said after chairing a meeting on the draft Bill.”This legislation will be a significant step towards providing lakhs of women farmers with an independent identity, rights and opportunities, while setting a new benchmark for gender equality in the agricultural sector,” he said.The draft also expands the definition of “agriculture” and “farmer” to include a wide range of agricultural and allied activities as well as tenant farmers, sharecroppers, agricultural labourers and seasonal migrant workers involved in farming.The Bill also provides for the creation of a Maharashtra State Women Farmers’ Fund, and a digital database of women farmers integrated with other government databases.To facilitate implementation, the government proposes to appoint women farmer support officers at the district and taluka levels from among existing officials, who will help obtain certificates, access welfare schemes and adopt improved agricultural practices.”The proposed law envisages a three-tier institutional framework comprising a governing council, a state-level monitoring committee and a women farmers’ empowerment cell for policy implementation and monitoring,” the draft said.