Dimitra clubs help Zambian fishing villages transform their communities

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. 

The IV Cycle of Technical Exchange for Family Farming addresses challenges and opportunities to strengthen the economic empowerment of women living and working in rural areas.

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

QU Dongyu lauds Asia-Pacific’s progress on food security while calling for science and innovation to tackle persistent hunger, unaffordable healthy diets and rural inequalities

The forest sector employs approximately 42 million people worldwide. A new joint study by FAO, ILO and Germany’s Thünen Institute is sharing the first globally comparable, sex-disaggregated employment figures for the forestry sector.

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.

In the land of 1 000 hills, Rwandan tea farm owner Bertride Nyiranzigiye joins the tea pluckers during the harvesting. Over 83 percent of Rwanda’s agricultural production is carried out by smallholder farmers.

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

Supporting young peri-urban farmers in Zambia with financial training and climate-smart practices

Interview with Tacko Ndiaye, Gender Team Leader and Mariola Acosta, FAO’s Strategic Coordinator of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, on why the Year should serve as a vital catalyst to empower women farmers and close gender gaps in agrifood systems.

The FAOSTAT Gender in Agrifood Systems Domain was launched on Wednesday in fulfilments of its commitment under the Commit to Grow Equality initiative.

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

In Nepal’s highlands, a young herder is building a livelihood from yak cheese and a decision not to leave

Healthy rangelands and the tenacity of one woman farmer help revive a once-forgotten Georgian dairy product

These clubs contribute to the implementation of FAO projects and programmes in areas such as nutrition, peace, food security, adaptation to climate change.

FAO is promoting sustainable and inclusive development through the Dimitra Clubs approach in Ecuador, a gender transformative approach implemented for the first time in Latin America to promote community engagement for the wellbeing of women, men and youth in rural areas.