Women farmers in India, even though they put in more labour into agriculture than men do, are not recognised as farmers since the notion of a farmer is tied in with land ownership, both in society and in state institutions. In our patriarchal society, such property ownership has been vested with men and women have been mostly left out.

Further, most women in the economic workforce counted by the government are in agriculture. Without women, Indian agriculture would not exist and without agriculture, rural women's lives and livelihoods don't exist.

It is in such a context that many organisations and individuals from across India came together to create MAKAAM or Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch (Forum for Women Farmers' Rights). You can read more about MAKAAM here: www.makaam.in

For running this informal pan-Indian network to support women farmers secure their rights and due recognition, MAKAAM has set up a secretariat located in Gramya Resource Centre for Women in Hyderabad. This fund-raising appeal is to help us run this secretariat, by paying for the monthly honorarium and other costs of our Secretariat Coordinator. Our Coordinator is a dedicated, hard-working, qualified young professional and we know that MAKAAM's work is strengthened greatly by her. We sincerely hope you will step forward to support MAKAAM.