85% of the workforce, 0% of the system: India’s invisible farmers

India’s agri-tech push is accelerating, with investments in AI-driven advisory systems, precision farming, and data-led productivity. But beneath this optimism lies a structural blind spot: women farmers, who form nearly 85% of the rural agricultural workforce, remain largely invisible in formal systems. Because access to digital platforms is tied to land ownership, identity records, and device access, many women are News Source: Down to Earth excluded by default. The result is a system that modernises agriculture without recognising the people sustaining it. This is not a technology gap, it is an inclusion gap. When data, platforms, and policies are built on incomplete realities and gender biases, they reproduce inequality at scale. The real challenge is designing systems that include those historically left out yet ironically are the backbone of this country.

The real challenge is designing systems that include those historically left out yet ironically are the backbone of this country.