The United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026). The Year spotlights the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, while often going unrecognized. Women farmers are central to food security, nutrition and economic resilience. IYWF 2026 raises awareness and promote actions to close the gender gaps and improve women’s livelihoods worldwide. What the Year aims to achieve The International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 aims to raise awareness of the role of women in agrifood systems and the challenges they face, including land tenure, financial and technical constraints, and limited access to services and education. It also seeks to encourage policies and investments that empower women in agrifood systems and to promote greater synergies among international initiatives supporting women farmers. Women farmers: who they are and what they do Women farmers are all women working in agrifood systems in different capacities across all segments of value chains. This includes farmers, producers, peasants, family and smallholder farmers, seasonal laborers, fishers, fish workers, beekeepers, pastoralists, foresters, processors, traders, traditional knowledge holders, women in agricultural sciences, formal and informal workers, and rural entrepreneurs. They encompass women in all their diversity, including young and older women, Indigenous women and women in local communities, women with disabilities, refugee and displaced women, and others. The definition is inclusive of women in both formal and informal work, recognizing their contributions regardless of land ownership or employment status. It reflects the diverse and essential roles all women play in sustaining agrifood systems including through leadership, care and domestic work, while supporting food security, contributing to economic prosperity, and improving nutrition and livelihoods for their families and communities. Facts about women in agriculture In 2021, women made up 41% of the global agrifood workforce-almost equal to men-yet rural women disproportionately face precarious jobs, poor working conditions, and limited rights. Women farmers typically work on smaller plots of land than men. Even when they manage farms of the same size, the gender gap in land productivity is 24%. Each day of extreme high temperatures reduces the total value of crops produced by women farmers by 3% relative to men. Women engaged in wage employment in agrifood systems earn 78 cents for every dollar that men earn. Closing the gender gaps in farm productivity and wages could raise global gross domestic product by USD 1 trillion and reduce food insecurity for 45 million people. Women farmers' high unpaid care work burden undermines their labor-market participation, economic empowerment, and physical and mental wellbeing. The unpaid care work performed by women and girls contributes at least USD 10.8 trillion to the global economy annually. The prevalence of food insecurity is consistently higher among women than men globally and across regions. Reducing gender disparities in employment, education, and income could eliminate 52% of the food insecurity gap. Empowering rural women through targeted development interventions could raise incomes for 58 million more people and boost resilience for 235 million-yet this potential remains largely untapped. Key Messages Agrifood systems are a major employer of women globally In many countries, agrifood systems are a more important source of livelihood for women than for men. Women play crucial roles across agrifood systems and are essential to household food security and nutrition. They play vital roles throughout the farming and food value chain, contributing to food production, agricultural work and post-harvest activities, as well as performing critical care work that helps sustain agrifood systems and rural communities. Despite their essential role in agrifood systems, women farmers face more precarious working conditions, heavier workloads, and unequal access to resources. Their roles are often marginalized, and their working conditions are typically worse than men's irregular, informal, part-time, low-waged, labour-intensive and thus vulnerable. Women farmers throughout value chains face persistent gaps in access to land, services, capital, inputs, education, and technology, and in the face of extreme heat, extreme precipitation and droughts, women increase their work burden more than men. Securing women's land rights strengthens agrifood systems and rural development and helps communities to thrive. Women remain behind in securing access, management, and ownership of land, and face discrimination or inadequate legal protection in these areas. Enhancing women's land rights boosts their empowerment, investment capacity, sustainability, and resilience, while improving access to services, reducing gender-based violence, and strengthening bargaining power. Women's empowerment is a key area of investment for rural development, prosperity and environmental protection, and critical to accelerating the transition to more sustainable agrifood systems. Empowering women farmers can enhance the well-being of women and their households, reduce hunger, increase dietary diversity, boost incomes and economies, and strengthen the resilience of populations. Rural young women frequently face specific challenges in accessing resources due to generational and gendered power dynamics, as well as structural, economic, social and spatial constraints. Greater unpaid and domestic care responsibilities contribute to keeping young women out of education, employment and training. Source : FAO