In Rojava, in northeastern Syria, near the town of Tirbespî, agriculture has long shaped everyday life. The region is part of the Fertile Crescent, often described as one of the birthplaces of agriculture. But years of dictatorship and war left much of the land neglected and dry, deepening poverty and unemployment across the region. 

At 30, Innocence is a beekeeper in Casamance, in southern Senegal. For her, beekeeping is more than a livelihood: it is a way to care for nature, create opportunities for her community and adapt to climate change.  

In the Churia region of Nepal, where land degradation and deforestation threaten the very survival of rural communities, Hari Maya Karki, a resident of Sindhuli District, is standing her ground. 

In Alagbé Todé’s village of Lozin, Benin, the land surrounding their homes was gradually becoming depleted and losing its productivity. 

A third-generation farmer from Shouguang, China, Cao Ziyu, initially began her career in the city as a design director. In 2020, she returned to her hometown when a family member was injured and needed care. 

Samira Abdul Hafez Alayan Al-Mutlaq is a 49-year-old mother whose children were experiencing iron and nutrient deficiencies. To provide her family with the essential nutrients, she searched for a natural, locally available food source. 

In the high Andean community of Quispiñicas, in Huancavelica, Peru, María Ávila Quilca safeguards more than 300 varieties of native potatoes. 

FAO’s SAGA 2 project, implemented with technical and financial support from the Government of Québec, provided technical training on sustainable agriculture and assisted communities in establishing village savings and loan associations to invest in themselves. 

How agroforestry practices are helping cassava growers thrive in Côte d’Ivoire

Within the framework of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, five life stories show how women from different territories across the region are agents of agrifood systems transformation.

Remzije Dekaj has spent the past decade building her dairy business, growing her flock from 10 to 150 sheep while continuing a long-standing mountain farming tradition in western Kosovo.

How investments, climate-smart practices and singing help one Mongolian dairy farmer get the most from her cows

New skills and equipment helped one woman grow her dairy business in rural Uzbekistan

In Côte d’Ivoire, cocoa farmers are transforming full-sun cocoa plots into thriving agroforestry systems where shade and fruit trees keep the temperature cool and production up.

Fresh out of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Katarina Wolf worked abroad for several years. After a while, she chose to return home to Rimforsa, south of Sweden, and reconnect with her roots. Together with her two older brothers, she took over the family dairy farm.  

Before daybreak, 64-year-old Siri Ally walks into the sea along the shores of Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. She was just 16 when she first began gleaning shellfish, following her older sister out of curiosity. 

In the Western Highlands of Guatemala, Santos Ofelia Tzoc Tax, a member of the Indigenous Peoples’ community of Chuipachec, is sowing seeds as an act of resilience.  

In a small corner of northwestern Córdoba, Adriana Romero combines goat farming, cooking at a rural school, and caring for the forest. Her story is also that of those who choose to stay put.

Inspired by cultural heritage, one Tunisian woman builds a date-based business and opportunities for her community

A medieval Italian citrus fruit sparks collaboration between a woman farmer and a chef