Godrej Agrovet’s Disha programme arrives at a time when India’s agriculture sector is quietly confronting a structural gap. Women make up a significant share of the agricultural workforce, yet their representation in formal, skilled, and leadership roles remains disproportionately low. The launch of Disha is not just another CSR initiative. It is an attempt to address a systemic disconnect between education and employability for women in the agri and allied sectors.
Announced at the third edition of the Women in Agriculture Summit, the programme positions itself as a career accelerator for women pursuing a BSc Agriculture and related disciplines. While the sector continues to speak about productivity, sustainability, and rural growth, the conversation about who gets to participate meaningfully in that growth remains incomplete. Disha attempts to move that conversation forward.
What is the Disha Programme by Godrej Agrovet?
The Disha programme is designed as a campus-to-corporate finishing school, focused on preparing women graduates for formal roles in the agriculture industry.
Implemented in partnership with 1M1B Foundation and Ikka Learning Foundation, the initiative focuses on building practical, industry-ready skills that are often missing from academic training.
These include:
- Sales and market understanding
- Communication and workplace readiness
- Confidence-building and professional conduct
- Exposure to real-world agri-business environments
The intent is clear. Women are already studying agriculture in large numbers. The challenge lies in converting that education into meaningful employment opportunities.
Godrej Agrovet’s Disha: Bridging the education-to-employment gap
One of the most critical issues in India’s agri sector is not the lack of talent, but the lack of structured pathways into formal roles.
Sunil Kataria, Managing Director and CEO of Godrej Agrovet, highlighted this gap in his statement:
India’s agri and allied sectors are at a pivotal point… nurturing industry-ready talent will be central to this potential.
That is where Disha becomes relevant. It does not attempt to create talent from scratch. It focuses on making existing talent employable.
Early results suggest traction. According to the company, over 33% of women participants have already been placed in agri industry roles during the pilot phase. That number, while modest, is significant in a sector where structured entry points for women remain limited.
Why women in agriculture still struggle to enter formal roles
India’s agriculture sector employs nearly 50% of the country’s workforce. Women play a critical role in farming, livestock management, and allied activities. Yet, their representation drops sharply when the conversation shifts to formal employment, agribusiness roles, or leadership positions.
The reasons are layered:
- Lack of industry exposure during education
- Limited access to professional networks
- Societal expectations restricting mobility and career choices
- Absence of structured onboarding programmes for women
- Skill gaps between academic learning and corporate expectations
Disha attempts to address these barriers directly by focusing on transition readiness rather than just education.
From participation to leadership: What Disha by Godrej Agrovet is trying to change
Pakzan Dastoor, Head of Sustainability and CSR at Godrej Industries Group, framed the initiative as part of a broader inclusion strategy:
Disha is a reflection of our commitment to enabling women to transition into the formal agri industry.
This transition is where most systems fail women.
Women are present in the ecosystem. They contribute to production, supply chains, and rural economies. But they are often excluded from:
- Decision-making roles
- Market-facing positions
- Organised sector employment
- Leadership pipelines
By focusing on employability and placement, Disha is attempting to move women from participation to professional integration.
The role of industry collaboration in building a women talent pipeline
The women in agriculture summit, where Disha was launched, also hosted discussions on a larger issue: the need for industry-wide collaboration.
Panellists emphasised that no single organisation can solve this gap. A sustainable pipeline requires coordination across:
- Educational institutions
- Skilling organisations
- Corporates and employers
- Policy frameworks
It aligns with broader insights we have explored earlier on Changeincontent, especially in our analysis of women farmers and policy frameworks.
The takeaway is simple. Empowerment cannot stop at training. It must extend to placement, retention, and growth.
Beyond Disha: Godrej Agrovet’s broader approach to inclusion
Mallika Mutreja, CHRO at Godrej Agrovet, pointed out that Disha is not a standalone initiative. It is part of a larger effort to build an inclusive workforce across the talent lifecycle.
It includes:
- Early-career entry opportunities
- Continuous learning and development
- Leadership progression pathways
That approach matters. Many organisations invest in entry-level diversity but fail to sustain it through mid-career and leadership stages. A programme like Disha can only succeed if it is integrated into a long-term talent strategy rather than treated as a one-time intervention.
The business case: Why this matters beyond inclusion
There is a tendency to view such programmes purely through a social lens. That is incomplete.
India’s agriculture sector is transforming. It requires:
- Skilled professionals
- Market understanding
- Technology adoption
- Supply chain innovation
Ignoring half the potential workforce is not just an inclusion issue. It is a business inefficiency. By investing in women’s talent, companies are not just doing the right thing. They are building a more capable workforce for the future of agriculture.
The Changeincontent perspective
At Changeincontent, we often see a pattern. Organisations talk about inclusion at a conceptual level, but the execution rarely goes deep enough. What makes Disha worth examining is its focus on transition.
The real barrier for women is not always access to education. It is the gap between education and opportunity.
If more companies want to learn from this, the focus should shift to:
- Structured entry pathways for women
- Skill alignment with real industry needs
- Measurable outcomes like placements and retention
- Long-term career visibility
Intent solely does not build inclusion. Systems that work consistently build it.
Conclusion: Godrej Agrovet’s Disha shows what intent looks like in action
Godrej Agrovet’s Disha program offers a clear signal: inclusion must move from conversation to execution.
India’s agriculture sector cannot achieve its ambitions without a stronger, more inclusive workforce. Programmes like Disha do not solve the problem entirely, but they point in the right direction. The real test will be scale.
If Disha can move beyond pilot success and become a replicable model across institutions and companies, it could help reshape how women enter and grow within the agri industry.
Because the question is no longer whether women belong in agriculture, the question is whether the system is ready to make space for them.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content. We broadly define inclusivity in terms of media, policies, law, and history. It encompasses all elements that influence the lives of women and marginalised individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
