Agriculture
Women Farmers: Driving Sustainable Agriculture and the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026
BASF supports the United Nations International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 and showcases the contribution of women farmers to food security, productivity, climate resilience and sustainable agriculture worldwide. Throughout the year, this landing page will highlight both the challenges women farmers face and the actions and solutions that are helping create a more inclusive, equitable and resilient future for agriculture.
It's time to shift our narrative from vulnerability to empowerment, recognizing that women farmers are key to unlocking sustainable food systems.
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & education
Education is one of the most powerful tools for empowering women farmers and strengthening the resilience of agricultural communities.
The International Year of the Woman Farmer highlights the importance of accessible, well-resourced education systems that equip rural women and girls with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in agriculture—from technical expertise and financial literacy to climate-smart farming practices.
As Steve Werblow, President of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, explains:
When we invest in women farmers, we’re not just supporting individuals—we’re driving economic growth, improving food security, and creating a more resilient and sustainable future.
However, access to education remains unequal. Globally, only 39% of rural girls attend secondary school, compared with 59% of urban girls, limiting opportunities for future generations of women farmers and highlighting the need for greater investment in education and lifelong learning across agrifood systems.
Because empowering women farmers starts long before they enter the field—education lays the foundation for resilient agriculture.
At BASF, we believe empowering women farmers starts with access to knowledge and practical skills. Through our Farming for a Nature-Positive Future (FNPF) initiative in Brazil—co-created with GeoApis, Solidaridad and Wheatley Young Partners—women receive hands-on training in beekeeping, honey commercialization and community building, helping them strengthen their livelihoods while taking on leadership roles in their communities. The initiative is already delivering tangible results, with participating farmers adopting more sustainable farming practices, improving soil management and supporting pollinator diversity, while achieving an average 14.4% increase in soybean yields.
As one participant in the initiative, Rosângela Rebesquini Tomielo, shared:
It meant so much to receive training that was clear and really connected to our reality. With activities like this, we feel more confident, more capable – like we can actually start something of our own. It was the first time we had a course truly made for us, and that changed everything. It lit a spark in us – to learn, to create and, most of all, to keep going together.
Her experience illustrates how education goes far beyond building technical skills—it empowers women with the confidence, knowledge and opportunities to shape more resilient farms, stronger communities and a more sustainable future.
Previous deep dives and general information
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & policies
For millions of women farmers around the world, agricultural policies influence far more than regulations. They shape access to land, finance, training, technology, markets and opportunities to grow their businesses.
Clear and inclusive definitions of who qualifies as a farmer, equal rights and equitable access to land and finance, and the integration of women's perspectives into agricultural policy frameworks are essential to creating an enabling environment in which women farmers can succeed.
Yet recognition alone is not enough. While 75% of policy documents across 68 countries acknowledge women's roles or the challenges they face in agriculture, only 19% include specific gender-related policy objectives, and just 6% of bilateral aid to agrifood systems treats gender equality as a primary objective.
Women farmers are often overlooked in policy decisions, but they are vital for achieving food security and sustainable agriculture. It's time to recognize their value and provide them with the support they need.
Turning recognition into meaningful opportunities requires collaboration. That is why BASF works with farmer organizations and local partners around the world to help women access the skills, resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
Through our collaboration with North of the Rift Women in Coffee (NORT) in Kenya, more than 300 women coffee farmers have access to training in good agricultural practices, product stewardship, crop and farmer safety, quality control and value addition. We also support NORT with a dry mill and quality laboratory, helping farmers access premium prices in the international coffee market.
North of the Rift Women in Coffee (NORT) is proud to partner with BASF in a shared effort to strengthen the role of women in the coffee sector. This collaboration expands economic opportunities for over 300 women coffee farmers under our network to gain access to targeted training in good agricultural practices, product stewardship, crop and farmer safety, quality control and value addition.
Partnerships like these demonstrate how strong policies and practical action work hand in hand. Together, they help women farmers build more secure livelihoods, strengthen their businesses, participate more fully across agrifood value chains and contribute to resilient, sustainable food systems. In doing so, they strengthen food security, empower rural communities and help build a more sustainable future for agriculture.
Listen to our Science Behind Your Salad podcast episode, From Roadside to Runway: How Kenya Feeds Itself... and the World, to learn more about our work with women farmers in Kenya and the wider food systems they help support. podcast-archive
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Deep dive into:
Women farmers & social inclusion
Women farmers contribute to food systems all around the world, yet many continue to face barriers to participation, representation and decision-making. Social inclusion means ensuring women farmers are not only present, but connected, visible and able to influence the communities, organizations and networks that shape agriculture.
Networks play a powerful role in creating opportunities. Through farmer groups, cooperatives, mentorship programs and digital communities, women farmers can exchange knowledge, access new ideas, build confidence and strengthen their professional visibility. These connections help transform individual experiences into collective learning and support while creating pathways to leadership and greater participation.
Progress is being made. Improved access to digital technologies is helping more women connect with information, training and professional networks. Between 2017 and 2021, the gender gap in access to mobile internet in low- and middle-income countries declined from 25% to 16%, while the gap in access to bank accounts narrowed from 9% to 6%.These advances are helping more women engage with agricultural communities, access resources and participate in economic opportunities.
Visibility also matters. Women in agriculture should be recognized not only as farmers, but as professionals, innovators and leaders. When women farmers are represented in media, industry events, research and leadership forums, their experiences become part of the conversation, and their achievements help inspire future generations. Sharing stories and showcasing role models helps move discussions beyond statistics and highlights the real people driving change across agriculture.
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & equal access
Equal access remains a defining challenge for women farmers. Inequalities in access to land, finance, resources and innovation continue to limit their roles and opportunities in agriculture, with less than 20% of the world’s landholders being women. Persistent stereotypes and limited visibility in data further obscure their contributions and impact.
At the same time, domestic responsibilities, including caregiving, household work and childcare responsibilities, place additional constraints on women, limiting their time, mobility and access to resources, and reinforcing existing inequalities.
Yet the potential is clear: when women farmers have equal access to productive resources, yields could increase by 20–30%, agricultural output by 2.5 - 4%, and up to 150 million people could be lifted out of hunger, underscoring why women’s empowerment is central to economic and social change.
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & climate change
Women farmers are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, largely due to the same barriers that limit their access to land, resources, services and decision-making, and reduce their productivity.
According to the FAO report Unjust Climate, female-headed households in developing economies face greater economic losses from extreme weather, losing on average 8% more income from heat stress and 3% more from flooding than male-headed households.
As climate risks intensify, these inequalities threaten livelihoods and food security, with climate change projected to push an additional 158 million women and girls into extreme poverty by 2050.
At the same time, evidence shows that growth in small-scale agriculture is two to four times more effective at reducing hunger and poverty than growth in other sectors, with women farmers playing a central role in strengthening resilience and supporting sustainable food production.
Addressing gender inequalities in agriculture and strengthening the role of women farmers will therefore be essential to improving climate resilience and ensuring sustainable and inclusive food systems.
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & productivity
Inclusive agriculture is essential for resilience, productivity and food security. Women farmers are responsible for around half of the world’s food production, rising to 60 - 80% in developing countries, and play a critical role in household nutrition, community stability and global food safety.
Yet significant productivity gaps persist. Women farmers produce 20 - 30% less than men due to two overlapping forms of exclusion – as both smallholder farmers and as women. Limited access to land, finance, technology and extension services continues to restrict their potential, while social norms often prevent women from cultivating more profitable crops. These structural barriers not only limit opportunities for women farmers but also affect the productivity, innovation and resilience of communities and food systems.
Empowering women farmers and addressing these challenges is therefore fundamental to boosting productivity and strengthening food systems. By enabling women to access the resources, knowledge and opportunities they need, agriculture can become more efficient, inclusive and resilient, helping to reduce hunger and strengthen sustainability.
Deep dive into:
Women farmers & gender gap
Gender gaps continue to shape the realities of women farmers across agrifood systems. Despite being responsible for around 50% of global food production, women farmers own less than 20% of agricultural land globally, reflecting persistent inequalities in access to land and economic resources.
These gaps have broader economic consequences: closing gender gaps, including wage disparities, could contribute up to USD 1 trillion to the global economy and increase global GDP by around 1%.
Addressing gender inequality in agriculture is therefore not only a matter of equity, but also essential for food security, economic growth and sustainable development.
Women Farmers of the World
Women farmers play a central role in sustaining agrifood systems around the world, accounting for around 37% of all farmers globally and managing approximately 15% of small farms worldwide.
They contribute across agricultural production systems as farmers and producers, smallholders and family farmers, seasonal farm workers and rural entrepreneurs.
Their contributions extend beyond production to leadership and community roles that support food security, livelihoods and nutrition for families and rural communities.
However, women spend an average of 4.2 hours a day on unpaid work and carry out over 75% of all unpaid care work globally, with this share rising even higher in certain countries.
As women make up nearly half of the world’s population, increasing their efficiency would have a significant global impact. Uplifting women isn’t about politics; it’s about humanity. We need to implement existing policies and equip them.
