Answer: Women constitute a significant force in global agriculture, accounting for around 43% of agricultural labourers. Climate change is closely linked to women's roles in agriculture, leading to significant challenges in their livelihoods and well-being.

Effects of Climate Change On Women Engaged In Agriculture

• Changes in Farming Practices: Women, who play a vital role in activities like crop management and household food supply, face significant challenges due to climate change. Unpredictable weather patterns, like irregular rainfall and prolonged droughts, disrupt on-farm operations.
• Economic Challenges: EWEs can lead to crop and infrastructure damage, forcing women to prioritize family care and seek alternative income sources.
• Resource Constraints and Vulnerability: Women’s lack of control over assets limits their access to credit, loans, and insurance, making them more vulnerable to climate-induced losses. 
• According to the UN FAO, only 12.8% women own landholdings and if women had the equal access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%.
• Water Scarcity's Disproportionate Impact: Women are primarily responsible for water collection. Scarce water resources particularly affect them and can lead to reduced agricultural productivity.
• Health Risks: Heat stress or other weather-related health issues due to exposure to harsh weather-conditions during farming.
• IPCC 6th Assessment report explicitly stated that pregnant women and young children are disproportionately affected.

Strategies to Support Women Farmers:

• Adaptive Strategies: Provide training programs and encourage women farmers to diversify their income sources and cultivate climate-resilient crops aligned with emerging economic opportunities.
• Capacity Building: Enhance women farmers' skills by training in agriculture innovations, sustainable production, and marketing. Offer training in climate-resilient farming techniques like agroforestry, crop diversification, and efficient irrigation.
• For example, the PM stated that government will soon launch a scheme to provide agri-drones and training to thousands of women-led self-help groups.
• Financial Inclusion and Security: Enhance the access to microfinance to help farmers move to high-value livestock production. Establish women's savings groups as safety nets during crop failures or economic stress. 
• Enhanced Resource Access: As per the UN, improving women’s access to productive resources and inputs (climate-resilient crop varieties) could increase agricultural outputs by 2.5 to 4 percent and reducing the number of hungry people in the world by 100 to 150 million.
• Policy Interventions and social security: Implement land tenure reforms prioritizing women’s rights and tailor insurance mechanisms to their specific needs. 
• Schemes like Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), National Food Security Mission etc has components of social security for women farmers.

Recognizing and addressing the differential impacts of climate change on women in the agriculture sector is crucial for building more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. Steps like dialogue and stakeholder consultations with women working in agricultureor utilising a bottomup approach to facilitate knowledge sharing amongst policymakers are suitable way forward.