Admired for her work in greenhouse farming and beekeeping, Sonya Kirgizova became a trusted figure in her community, someone people turned to with questions about crops, pests, food preservation or family health. 

Combining field experience with research-based practices, FAO training is supporting Maryam and other fellow women farmers to strengthen pistachio production under increasingly challenging conditions of drought and water scarcity.

For generations, chickpeas have been at the heart of Lebanese cuisine. They are woven into the country's cultural identity, with domestic consumption averaging 3.25 kilograms per person per year.

Globally, women represent only about 35 percent of graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This untapped potential and equality gap is mirrored throughout agrifood systems.

Sophio joined FAO’s ENPARD programme, funded by the European Union and Sweden, to get hands-on training and learn a biological approach to pest management.

Women, who carry much of Africa’s agricultural workload, have routinely been left out of access to mechanization services, finance, leasing schemes, and training. 

Here are five countries where farmers are making leaps in agricultural livelihoods thanks to sustainable agricultural mechanization

Loice is one of about 2000 farmers in Kilifi County learning through Tushauriane Schools, community-led “schools without walls” where farmers meet weekly to share ideas, test new farming methods and find solutions to common challenges.

Men and women like Katana and Kalama meet weekly to discuss farming, marketing, and household relations. In these sessions, learning goes beyond production, it becomes a dialogue about equality.

The Tushauriane project was designed as a learning-oriented pilot. Its value lies in demonstrating how agribusiness training, social norm change, and digital tools can work together to address complex gender-related and productivity challenges.

In Myanmar, FAO helped establish a women-led savings and credit group, through which the women were able to start a small rice noodle production business in their community.

Mariam has lived in the Hagadera Refugee Camp in Dadaab, eastern Kenya, for the last 19 years. Her garden was part of the effort to make it feel like home, but more importantly it provides nutritious vegetables for her family of seven.

Implementing natural pest and disease remedies for greater climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific

Türkiye’s Bursa black fig and Bursa peach are two standouts in a region known for its fruits and vegetables. They were awarded national geographical indication (GI) status in 2018 and 2019 respectively and European Union GI recognition in 2024. 

The Baka people are adopting new ways of ensuring food security by taking up farming and beekeeping. The Baka youth, in particular, embody their new commitment to agriculture and innovation, with modern beehives, sources of income and nutrition for their families. 

Nurcan threw herself into beekeeping. She also joined FAO training courses, which gave her tools that she immediately put into practice.

The last of this year’s VirtualiTeas, a series of events organized by FAO’s Women Committee, was held in support of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

In agreement with the FAO, the organization designed an electronic application for evaluating the presented prototypes.

“Think equal, build smart, innovate for change” is this year's theme for International Women’s Day.

Achieving gender equality is essential to ending hunger and building sustainable food systems. A new FAO guide offers parliaments in Latin America and the Caribbean a roadmap to get there.