News

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations establishes this distinction as an accelerator of gender equality in rural areas
• The initiative focuses on the recognition, rights, and resilience of women who sustain food production

Women play an essential role in agri-food systems worldwide, from food production and processing to distribution and marketing. However, their contribution remains undervalued and hampered by structural inequalities.

With the aim of changing this, the United Nations General Assembly approved in 2024 the declaration of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF) , an initiative led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) . This declaration seeks to place women farmers at the center of the international debate and promote concrete actions to move towards fairer and more inclusive agri-food systems.

The role of women farmers

Women farmers participate in all phases of the agri-food value chain and perform diverse and complementary roles. Their work is key to food security, nutrition, and the economic stability of millions of rural households. Among the main contributions of women farmers are:

• Production of basic foodstuffs for local consumption and markets.

• Transformation, conservation and marketing in formal and informal circuits.

• Natural resource management and transmission of traditional knowledge.

• Support for family and community livelihoods .

The term “farmers” encompasses a great diversity of realities: both farmers proper as well as livestock farmers, small and large producers, shepherds, fisherwomen, beekeepers, agricultural workers, rural entrepreneurs, young and older women, indigenous women, refugees or displaced persons with or without ownership of the land or livestock, among others.

Inequalities and challenges

Despite their significant presence in the global agricultural workforce, women farmers continue to face structural barriers that limit their productivity, income, and ability to adapt to economic and climate crises. The main challenges they face are:

• Limited access to land, ownership of farms and rights of use.

• Difficulties in accessing financing, credit, insurance and financial services.

• Reduced access to technologies, training, and agricultural extension services.

• More precarious working conditions , with greater informality and wage gaps.

• Limited participation in decision-making spaces at different levels.

These inequalities not only affect women, but also reduce the productive potential and resilience of agri-food systems as a whole.

Goals

The “IYWF” is conceived as a tool to move from recognition to action , driving structural changes that last beyond 2026. The objectives are:

• Raising awareness about the essential role of women farmers in agri-food systems.

• Promote public policies that eliminate gender gaps in rural areas.

• Promote investments aimed at the economic empowerment of women.

• Strengthen equitable access to productive resources, technology, and knowledge.

• Improve the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data.

Throughout 2026, communication actions, dialogue spaces and activities for the exchange of experiences will be developed at the local, national and international levels.

The report also focuses on the relationship between gender, agriculture, and climate change , highlighting how rural women are disproportionately affected by environmental impacts, despite playing a central role in natural resource management. This is explained by their lower income levels, which limit their access to resources and technologies.

Year of recognition

The recognition of women farmers with the “IYWF” represents an opportunity to translate it into effective policies , investments, and regulatory reforms that tangibly improve the living conditions of rural women. Advancing gender equality in agriculture is not only a matter of social justice, but also an essential condition for building more resilient and inclusive agri-food systems.

Furthermore, this designation adds to other initiatives promoted by the FAO in favor of rural areas in 2026, such as the “International Year of Grasslands and Pastoralists” , aimed at the sustainable management of the territory and associated livelihoods.