Making climate-smart technologies work for women farmers: insights from cases of bundling innovations in India

This paper analyses four case studies conducted in distinct agro-ecological and socio-cultural regions in India: Gujarat (saline marshlands), Uttar Pradesh (northern plains and highlands), Maharashtra (semi-arid) and West Bengal (Eastern Gangetic Plains).

These case studies were designed to facilitate a shift in agricultural practices aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change, while also elevating women’s economic conditions.

Table X gives an overview of the four cases analysed in this paper.

Data was collected via in-depth Interviews (IDIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).

Key findings:

The four case studies included in this paper reinforce this proposition, demonstrating that women’s adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies was strongest where technological, technical, social, and institutional innovations were bundled together rather than introduced in isolation.

In particular, it is important that training not only focuses on practical skills, but is complemented by social interventions to create enabling, inclusive and equitable environments for adoption. The 4 case studies confirm that farmer-to-farmer approaches strengthen social cohesion, enhance farmers’ confidence in new practices.

The analysis also shows that across the cases, interventions sought to connect women farmers with various government schemes and initiatives, like micro funding schemes or permanent representation of women in local decision-making bodies, have proven to be critical in long-term adoption of the new practices. These interventions empowered women to be producers of knowledge rather than passive recipients of innovation.

Challenges:

For achieving sustainable, scalable impact, however, bundling needs to be integrated from the project planning stage and tailored to specific contextual needs.

A critical insight across the cases is that the primary emphasis frequently remained on accelerating technology adoption rather than addressing long-term sustainability, economic viability, and social inclusion.

Another key issue highlighted across the cases was the lack of engagement with men. Intentionally engaging men and including some social and behavioral change communication could have created a safer, more supportive environment for women’s participation.

Thirdly, some practices have proven to be more time-consuming and labor-intensive, effectively increasing rather than easing women’s workload. Hence, programs that work with women must recognize the weight of their unpaid care work and provide the support structures needed to genuinely reduce, redistribute or compensate that labor.

A further concern emerging from these cases is the strong emphasis on externally driven CSA technologies delivered through top-down approaches, with limited attention to local and indigenous knowledge systems. These experiences highlight the importance of co-designing innovation bundles with the communities so that interventions are locally relevant, inclusive, and capable of strengthening resilient and sustainable climate- smart agri-food systems.