International Day of Rural Women

The first International Day of Rural Women was observed on 15 October 2008. This international day recognizes “the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.”

Governments and society need to pay attention to their needs and invest in them, pursuing the political and socioeconomic empowerment of rural women and supporting their full and equal participation in decision-making at all levels, take them into account in their policies, developing specific assistance programs, and advisory services to promote economic skills of rural women in banking, modern trading and financial procedures and providing microcredit and other financial and business services, or designing laws to ensure that rural women are accorded full and equal rights to own land and other property, just to name a few.

Blogs

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Malho Marndi is leading the way, proving that with the right technology, smallholder farmers can thrive

Publications

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Generating evidence and contributing to discussions and policy actions for inclusive and impactful agrifood systems, leading researchers from CIMMYT working with various stakeholders—including rural women farmers in Asia and Africa—converge in New Delhi at the 2023 CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform and ICAR Conference.

Features

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Women farmers in Nepal are increasing their income and leading positive change in their communities through capacity building programs in mechanization and post-harvest management.

Features

tag icon Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

High-yielding purple maize, introduced into Peruvian agriculture by Alicia Medina Hoyos, is attracting global attention.

Features

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Through the CSISA project, CIMMYT is helping female farmers in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to receive the recognition and opportunities they deserve.

Publications

tag icon Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

Male and female farmers in Ethiopia and India face different challenges to accessing new wheat varieties, discovers CIMMYT researchers.

Publications

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Reducing the gender gap in Ethiopian farming households can enhance climate change adaptation by female-headed households by almost 19%.

Features

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A day in the life of a farmer in India’s Odisha state, part of  tribal community that has long lived off the land. 

Features

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How gender research supports rural women during times of crisis.

Features

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Inclusive seed business model empowers women from marginalized communities in Nepal.

Features

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Women in Odisha, India, successfully shoulder responsibility in leading their families through the COVID-19 crisis.

Features

tag icon Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

Women in rural Nepal prosper from training program on soil fertility management practices.

Features

tag icon Gender equality, youth and social inclusion

Technical and business training provides women with opportunities to break barriers and improve livelihoods.

Photos

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On the International Day of Rural Women, October 15, meet farmers who are leading their families and their communities to a better life.

Features

tag icon Climate adaptation and mitigation

Long-term research on climate-smart agriculture in Malawi has improved the productivity, resilience and prospects of Mary Twaya, a single mother of three.