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International Year of the Woman Farmer

The United Nations has designated 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. 

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IYWF 2026 will raise awareness and promote actions to close the gender gaps and improve women’s livelihoods worldwide.

In 2024, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the U.S.-introduced resolution to declare 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmers (IYWF 2026). The Year spotlights essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to trade, while often receiving little to no recognition. Women farmers are critical to food and nutritional security and rural economic resilience. 

National Farmers Union is proud to promote and celebrate IYWF 2026 alongside our agricultural partners to uplift the hundreds of thousands of women who make our organization the premier family farm organization in the country. 

ACE Summit

Registration is open for the 2026 Women’s Conference – a unique opportunity to join other agriculture organizations and women from across the country in celebrating the International Year of the Woman Farmer in our nation’s capital! 

National Farmers Union has partnered with the American Farm Bureau Federation and other ag stakeholders on the 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer ACE (Advocate, Cultivate, Empower) Summit June 1-3 in Washington, D.C. We hope women Farmers Union members can join us for this exciting one-time event designed to explore our connection to a global community of women in agriculture and celebrate the experiences that unite us.  

You’ll participate in a few special sessions exclusively for Farmers Union members in addition to the conference’s full agenda of speakers and sessions: 

  • A group dinner (June 1, evening) 
  • Meetings on Capitol Hill with your members of Congress (June 3, afternoon) 
  • Social time to connect with other Farmers Union members from across the country (June 3, evening) 

IMPORTANT DETAILS: 

  • NFU will provide a scholarship to one member from each Farmers Union state. These scholarships will cover conference registration and accommodation at the conference hotel, shared with another Farmers Union member. The scholarships will not cover travel to Washington, D.C. 
  • Attendees should plan to arrive in Washington on Monday, June 1 and depart Thursday, June 4.
 
There are two ways to register: 

For your state’s scholarship recipient: NFU staff will register them for the conference. Please contact Lisa Buckner with your scholarship recipient’s information (or have them contact Lisa directly) so she can collect the relevant information to complete their registration. They must make their own travel arrangements.  

For all other participants: register directly here or at NFU.org.  

  • List “[YOUR STATE/REGION] Farmers Union” in the Company registration field so we can identify you as a Farmers Union member. 
  • Do NOT register for the optional “Women in Ag Day on Capitol Hill.” NFU will organize a separate Hill day for all Farmers Union participants and will send out details about these events closer to the conference. 
  • You may make hotel reservations when you register for the conference. If you would like your state’s participants to share a room, please select a double room and include both participant names on the room, or call the hotel after booking. 
  • Please note that NFU will not host a women’s conference this November as we have in past years.   

Register by May 6, 2026. Questions? Contact Lisa Buckner. 

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High-Level Goals

Explore the objectives that shape the International Year of the Woman Farmer

Access to land is a basic requirement for farming; therefore, land ownership is the single more important asset for families that rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Still, there is a vast difference in the share of male and female agricultural landowners in many countries.

The percentage of men who have ownership or secure tenure rights over agricultural land is twice that of women in more than 40 percent of the countries that have reported on women’s landownership.

Training plays a critical role in empowering women in agriculture. It equips them with the knowledge and skills needed to adapt to climate impacts, improve productivity, and contribute to sustainable food systems. Focused training, access to networks and inclusion of female extension agents are elements associated with improvements in technology adoption, reduced post-harvest losses, increased climate resilience, and at the same time provides economic benefits, including increasing household income.

These financial services provide critical opportunities to improve agricultural outputs and farm economies. When new expensive technologies become available, credit is an essential part of gaining access to these opportunities to improve productivity and long-term incomes. Restricting access to these financial prospects forces producers who are unable to bear the risks and upfront costs to be left behind.

As a result of gender gaps that have restricted land tenure and access to credit markets, women are also at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing new technologies that can increase productivity such as farm equipment, improved plant varieties and livestock breeds, fertilizers, and pest control/land management techniques, and digital technologies. The use of purchased inputs depends on the availability of complementary assets such as land, credit, education, and labor, all of which tend to be more constrained for female-headed households than for male-headed households.

Greater access to and adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices could help shrink the productivity gap, increase women farmer’s resilience, and improve rates of food insecurity worldwide.

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