Publications
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | From a listener in the field to a voice in the community: My journey as a woman farmer (By Shahida Dahri, Pakistan)
01/09/2026
As the daughter of a tenant farming family in Sindh, Pakistan, Shahida first sits beside her mother at an FAO Women Open School, simply listening. A small kitchen garden becomes the place where she grows vegetables, confidence and new skills, from composting to digital tools for identifying plant diseases. Despite those who believe a girl should stay at home, she becomes a Women Farmer Facilitator supporting 30 women. 10 p.
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | Building climate resilience, one basin at a time: A woman farmer in Trinidad and Tobago holds onto her soil and water as the seasons turn against her (By Salisha Bellamy, Trinidad and Tobago)
01/09/2026
After losing her first maize crop to drought, Salisha realizes the changing seasons are no longer temporary. Through a FAO-funded climate resilience training, she rebuilds her farm with contour planting, check dams, mini-terraces and fruit basins that hold water on the slopes. As the soil begins to recover, so does her confidence. 9 p.
Complementarity in practice – The solidarity economy, land conservation and indigenous governance led by UNORCAC women, Ecuador
01/08/2026
Empowering women across forest value chains is both a matter of equity and a strategic investment in resilient ecosystems, inclusive economies and global climate objectives. This factsheet will explore the successful experiences of the FFPOs Women’s Committee of the Union of Peasant and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC). 9 p.
Enabling linkages between social protection and agriculture for women farmers in Madhesh Province of Nepal (JP RWEE)
01/08/2026
The policy brief examines how stronger linkages between social protection and agriculture can support women farmers in Madhesh Province, Nepal. Drawing on national evidence, local context and JP RWEE's experience, it outlines key barriers and opportunities for improving access to services, strengthening resilience, promoting women’s economic empowerment and enhancing coordination between agriculture and social protection systems. 8 p.
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | From silence to voice: How banana peels, soured milk and curiosity grew a young Pakistani woman's confidence (By Maheen Riaz, Pakistan)
01/08/2026
Growing up on her family farm in Pakistan, Maheen did much of the work but had little say in the decisions. Inspired by the confidence her mother gained through a Farmer Field School, she began attending too - first listening, then questioning, experimenting and finding the courage to speak. Over time, Maheen became a farmer facilitator herself, learning that leadership is not about having all the answers, but about creating space for others to learn and be heard. 8 p.
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | The rainbow plate: From wild jackfruit to a blue plastic plate, a Ugandan woman's fight for what children eat (By Sarah Nakame, Uganda)
01/08/2026
Growing up in Uganda, Sarah remembers a childhood filled with diverse local fruits and foods. Years later, while visiting schools, she is struck by the sight of children facing the same monotonous meal day after day on blue plastic plates, a memory that stays with her. When she becomes a mother, that concern turns into action. 9 p.
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | The seed bank of bottles and gourds: How a Kenyan farmer saved her grandmother's indigenous seeds (By Charity Mueni Ndivo, Kenya)
01/08/2026
Growing up in Makueni, Kenya, Charity learned from her grandmother to farm with indigenous seeds and practices she would later recognize as agroecology. Years later, watching soils lose their capacity to grow and local crop varieties disappear, she turned back to that knowledge. With little more than discarded iron sheets, sisal poles, liquor bottles and gourds, Charity built a seed bank to recover and protect indigenous varieties. 7 p.
Sowing stories, cultivating equality | The brittle stems: How a childhood spent among failing gardens led one woman into crop science (By Florence Adejole, Nigeria)
01/08/2026
As a child, Florence wandered into abandoned gardens, touching brittle stems and wilted leaves and wondering why the plants had died. Told that agriculture was beneath her, she chose crop science anyway. Years later, her research on compost and biochar takes her from laboratory to field, working with women farmers and searching for practical solutions for plant and soil health. 7 p.