India, March 8 -- In the peri urban stretches of Visakhapatnam, as the first light falls over paddy fields and vegetable plots, it is women who are already at work. They transplant seedlings, manage livestock, negotiate with input dealers, and calculate credit in their heads. They are cultivators, risk managers, nutrition planners and increasingly technology adopters. Yet, historically and socially, they have been described as helpers.

This invisibility is not just semantic. It shapes policy access, credit flow, technology adoption and social recognition. If Indian agriculture is to become resilient, climate smart and market linked, the centrality of women farmers must move from the margins of implementation to the core of strategy.

Agr...