Kajal Gulati

By Kajal Gulati, Nicholas Magnan, Travis J. Lybbert, and David SpielmanFebruary 23, 2026 Indian agricultural policy has long worked with a neat fiction: a single, rational decision-maker called “the farmer” who receives information, weighs costs and benefits, and decides whether the household should adopt a new technology. That stylized figure—almost always imagined as a man—rarely corresponds to how real farm decisions unfold.

1 INTRODUCTION In most agricultural households globally, men and women jointly contribute to farm operations with the common objective of optimizing production and profits (Doss, 2018). While sharing responsibility for the cultivation of the same plots, they assume distinct roles and responsibilities, often organized by gender and shaped by prevalent gender norms (Alesina et al., 2013; Doss, 2018; Quisumbing, 1996).

1 INTRODUCTION In most agricultural households globally, men and women jointly contribute to farm operations with the common objective of optimizing production and profits (Doss, 2018). While sharing responsibility for the cultivation of the same plots, they assume distinct roles and responsibilities, often organized by gender and shaped by prevalent gender norms (Alesina et al., 2013; Doss, 2018; Quisumbing, 1996).