FAO launches 2026 as Year of the Woman Farmer campaign to close gender gaps

FAO launches the International Year of the Woman Farmer, a global campaign in 2026 to recognize women’s contributions to agriculture.

The initiative aims to highlight the important yet often overlooked roles women play across agrifood systems.

It also seeks to drive action to close persistent gender gaps in access to land, finance, technology, and decision-making, ensuring that women farmers are equipped to play their full role in global food security.

Designated by the UN General Assembly in 2024, the International Year will coordinate activities throughout 2026 with FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The campaign will involve governments, research institutions, cooperatives, youth networks, and universities to turn awareness into practical measures that improve women’s livelihoods and strengthen agrifood systems worldwide.

Women make up a significant share of the world’s agricultural workforce, contributing across production, processing, distribution, and trade.

The launch event, was held on the sidelines of the 179th FAO Council session, FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero warned that progress on women’s empowerment in agrifood systems has stalled.

“The cost of inaction is enormous. We know from recent estimates that closing the gaps between men and women in agriculture could raise global GDP by one trillion dollars and reduce food insecurity for 45 million people,” he said.

Torero emphasized that the observance goes beyond symbolic recognition.

“It is about bringing policy attention to the multidimensional challenges women farmers face, and promoting legal reforms and policy and programmatic action that allow women to have equal land rights, equal access to finance, to technology, to extension services, to markets, and to decision-making,” he added.

In 2021, agrifood systems employed 40 percent of working women globally, nearly equal to men. Yet women’s contributions remain undervalued.

Many work under irregular, informal, low-paid, and labour-intensive conditions and face structural barriers that limit productivity, income, and resilience.

These inequalities not only affect individual households but also hinder the overall efficiency and sustainability of food systems worldwide.

FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol highlighted that women farmers’ needs must remain a priority beyond 2026.

“Throughout 2026, the International Year will move from today’s sharing of personal stories and discussions to practical work on national policies, community partnerships, research, investment, and dialogue between farmers, cooperatives, governments, finance institutions, youth networks, and universities. The goal is simple: turn commitment into practice, and practice into measurable impact,” she said.

Reports such as The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems and The Unjust Climate highlight structural barriers and climate-related risks that disproportionately affect women farmers.

Women typically farm smaller plots than men, and even on equal land sizes, land productivity is lower.

Each day of extreme high temperatures reduces women farmers’ crop value more than men’s.

A rise in long-term average temperatures is linked to a sharp reduction in income for female-headed households compared to male-headed households.

Women engaged in wage employment earn less than men, while the unpaid care work performed by women and girls contributes trillions to the global economy.

Reducing gender disparities in employment, education, and income could eliminate much of the food insecurity gap, while empowering rural women could raise incomes for millions more people and boost resilience for hundreds of millions globally.

The International Year of the Woman Farmer is designed to move beyond awareness.

It seeks to create policy reforms, targeted investment, and community-led programmes that ensure women farmers have access to land, finance, technology, and decision-making platforms.

Partnerships across governments, private sector actors, cooperatives, and universities aim to ensure sustainable and measurable impact.

Ultimately, the International Year underscores a simple truth: when women farmers have equal rights, resources, and recognition, agrifood systems become more productive, resilient, and equitable, benefiting communities, economies, and global food security.

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