At first light, Maryam Gholam Alizadeh, 42, moves among the rows of pistachios. The grove is low and spreading; its leaves catch what little moisture the morning holds.

On one hectare of increasingly dry land, more than 700 trees require close attention. Maryam pauses, studies a leaf, then the soil beneath it, reading signs that guide decisions with little room for error. Heat, water scarcity and contamination can undo a season’s work. As a farmer, and especially as a women farmer, she knows that access to reliable, technical knowledge and training, not a given for women in many countries, is as critical as water itself.