Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas Celebrated at ICAR-CIWA, Bhubaneswar

The ICAR–Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (ICAR-CIWA), Bhubaneswar, celebrated Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas on 15 October 2026 in the august presence of the Chief Guest Shri Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha. The celebration aligned with the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, reaffirming the importance of recognizing and strengthening the contributions of women farmers to Indian agriculture and allied sectors.
Dr. Mridula Devi, Director, ICAR-CIWA, welcomed the Chief Guest, Guest of Honour, WFPO Leaders, WFIG members and other participants. In her inaugural speech, Director, ICAR-CIWA highlighted the institute’s pivotal role in developing gender-responsive technologies, implementing capacity-building programmes and promoting sustainable livelihood models for women farmers across the country. She emphasized that Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas provides an important platform to recognize the dedication, innovation, resilience and invaluable contributions of women farmers in transforming rural livelihoods and strengthening agricultural development. She further underscored the importance of skill development, technology and institutional support for enhancing agricultural productivity, promoting entrepreneurship and improving the livelihoods of women farmers.
Shri Sachin Ramchandra Jadhav, IAS, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Shri Jadhav underscored the importance of bridging the gender gap in agriculture and emphasized that gender equity and equal opportunities are essential for realizing the full potential of women farmers and ensuring their meaningful participation in agricultural development. He appreciated ICAR-CIWA’s initiative in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for farm machinery for Odisha, which would enable women farmers to operate agricultural equipment safely, efficiently and independently. He further underscored the need for close collaboration between ICAR-CIWA and the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Government of Odisha, to facilitate appropriate policy interventions for strengthening women’s land rights.
Prof. S. Pasupalak, Former Vice-Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, graced the occasion as a Guest of Honour. In his address, he highlighted the importance of collective action among women farmers through group-based approaches to strengthen their knowledge, skills and entrepreneurial capabilities. He emphasized the need of impact evaluation of science based intervention, women friendly farm machinery and gender responsive technologies.
A key highlight of the celebration was technology support of ICAR-CIWA developed pedal-operated women-friendly coconut dehusker to 50 women SHGs for reducing physical drudgery associated with coconut dehusking, improve work efficiency and occupational safety and income of women farmers in the coconut-growing regions. Demonstrations of various technologies were also organized, including the pedal-operated women-friendly coconut dehusker, easy harvest bag, disc ridger, maize dehusker-cum-sheller, Integrated Vertical Nutri Farming System (IVNFS), bioresource production unit, mushroom cultivation, hydroponics and agricultural drone technology.
Leading women farmers also shared their experiences, success stories, highlighting their entrepreneurial journeys and their expectations from ICAR-CIWA. As part of the celebration, Six progressive women farmers who have made significant contributions to agriculture and allied activities were recognized and felicitated. A scientist–farmer interaction was also organized to facilitate knowledge exchange on sustainable agricultural practices, improved crop varieties, and effective farm management strategies. The celebration witnessed participation of more than 250 women farmers, Agricultures students, entrepreneurs, FPO, SHG and FIG members besides public representatives and staff of the Institute.