From rights to results – Empowering women farmers for efficient agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia

Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a precondition for efficient, sustainable and resilient agrifood systems. Recognizing this, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This global milestone offers a timely opportunity to place the contributions, rights and leaders hip of rural women at the centre of regional and international development agendas.

Across Europe and Central Asia, rural women play a key role in agricultural production, food and nutrition security and rural livelihoods. Their work sustains households, farms and communities. Yet persistent gender inequalities continue to restrict their access to productive resources, extension services, technologies, markets, decent employment and decision-making processes. These constraints limit not only their personal opportunities but also the overall performance of agrifood systems. In contrast, when rural women enjoy equality and are recognized and supported as farmers, their full potential can unfold, which leads to more resilient households, stronger farms, thriving communities and broader socioeconomic development. At the same time, the transition towards sustainable and circular bioeconomy models offers new opportunities for rural development in the region, in which women farmers are already active – yet often invisible – contributors. Ensuring that bioeconomy policies, investments and innovations are gender-responsive is therefore essential to enabling rural women to fully participate in and benefit from these emerging opportunities and to maximizing their contributions to efficient, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems. Bioeconomy initiatives also can create opportunities for rural women to participate in decision-making processes and gain economic independence. In addition to economic aspects, bioeconomy work recognizes the traditional knowledge and expertise that women bring to bio-based processes.

In this context, FAO proposes to organize a special high-level event under the auspices of the Regional Conference, in observance of the International Year of the Woman Farmer. The event, organized within the official programme, will provide an opportunity to bring forward the experiences, realities, needs and aspirations of women farmers in the region and shed light on the challenges they face and the conditions that would allow them to overcome these barriers. The event will demonstrate how Members, with the support of FAO, are transforming regional commitments into concrete action by promoting gender-responsive policies and practices that empower women farmers, unlock their potential and support rural development. It also will raise awareness of the role of women farmers in sustainable and circular bioeconomy pathways and reaffirm FAO’s commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. In doing so, the special event will recall the recommendations of the Thirty-fourth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe in 2024, in which Members reaffirmed the importance of advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment and called on FAO to intensify action in that sense.

 

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