On a largely barren piece of land in Puttalam, Susila Kanthi’s house borders an extensive salt production factory on one side and vast lagoon on the other. Every Saturday evening, Kanthi gathers her net and oar and sets out to fish on the Puttalam lagoon. She returns home only the next morning...

With a lifelong drive toward philanthropy and an academic background in economics, Solongo Ganbold found her way to microbiology later in life, as she helped her mother on her PHD research. It was honeybee venom (apitoxin) that captured her interest for its potential in treating patients with ...

Approved by the UN General Assembly, it will increase awareness of the crucial role women farmers play in agrifood systems

Skills from the Soil Doctors Programme are helping champion farmers to assist other farmers in practicing sustainable soil management.

Students at the Senkadagala school for children with disabilities begin their scheduled lessons after working in the school garden. The Senkadagala school is one of 400 in Sri Lanka where FAO has implemented the Entrepreneurial School Garden programme.

Once afraid of bees, Gulhayo Khaydarova is now an expert beekeeper, known locally for the quality honey she extracts.

Long-standing negative social norms can perpetuate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) as certain harmful practices can result in the prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV). Early marriage and economic violence are two forms of GBV that are very common in rural farming communities in Sy...

Fatema took advantage of an FAO project that taught her to weave the wire mesh holding together the stones that protect her ancient village from flash floods and soil erosion.

Shaodatkhon Oripova is participating in the FAO Smart Farming for the Future Generations project and the Digital Villages Initiative that aims to transform at least 1 000 villages around the world into digital hubs. 

FAO works with rural women in Uzbekistan, training them to better manage forest resources, understand their rights and opportunities in the forest sector and diversify their income generating activities 

The side event aimed to highlight the critical role of financing for development in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment as a cornerstone to prevent and mitigate food crises and transform agrifood systems. 

The Asia and Pacific region accounts for half of the world’s severe food insecurity, with more women than men being food insecure.

Members of the Meta Food Supply Network (La Red Meta) – Felicita Valderrama, Sergio León, Lilia Vásquez, and Graciela Rojas – showcase their locally sourced products at a bustling market. La Red Meta's efforts have not only empowered women and youth in the region but have also significantly elevated the overall quality of life for farming families. 

FAO trained internally displaced women in northeast Nigeria to process and promote Tom Brown, a highly nutritious powder used for porridge. The powder is made from locally sourced ingredients such as fish, millet, soybeans and groundnuts.

Soon after sunrise in Rwanda’s Ngoma District, Vestine and Jean-Claude walk from their home to their garden, holding hoes in their hands. The married couple work efficiently – and happily – side-by-side, tending to their beans and maize crops. It's a renewed partnership and a product of the Joint Programme on Rural Women's Economic Empowerment (JP RWEE) programme approach.

At CSW68, FAO cohosted several side events and participated in more, highlighting the importance of women's empowerment in building sustainable agrifood systems

Investing in women in agrifood systems in order to close gaps in productivity and wages is crucial to grow the global economy by $1 trillion, reduce hunger for 45 million people, and incre...

Combining theory and practice, the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics, led by FAO, is offering scholarships to train the next generation of agricultural statisticians. 

Agrifood systems are a major employer of women globally and constitute ...

International Women’s Day 2024: Follow the joint FAO, IFAD and WFP celebration to see why investing in rural women is central to achieving our Sustainable Development Goals