Women Make Food Systems Work for Them — By Working Together

At the midway point of the International Year of the Woman Farmer — when the global development community has come together to recognize the role of women farmers in producing food for the world — much of the conversation revolves around addressing the many challenges they face.

And rightly so. The barriers for women farmers are well documented: they include restrictive gender norms, disproportionate household burdens and a shortfall of resources such as land, financing, inputs and market connections. So, how do women farmers make food systems work for them?

At Heifer International, we believe supporting women, their families and their communities comes through integrated approaches that bundle social, technological, market and regenerative farming elements to address the underlying, systemic barriers to their progression and full participation in formal markets. We apply this in partnership with like-minded local partners, as well as global partners such as the CGIAR and FAO, ensuring women farmers have the opportunity to draw from a broad range of expertise and experience. Ultimately, integrated strategies are a pathway toward equitable access to assets and opportunities.

But programs in support of women farmers will have limited impact if we only view our work through the lens of disadvantage. We need to embrace a bolder vision that also helps women farmers fully tap their innate and collective power.

About two-thirds of the smallholders Heifer International partners with through its programs are women, and their resolve and ingenuity — as pillars of their families, nurturers of the environment, champions for fair pricing and skilled business leaders — consistently drive advancements across farms, villages and markets. As individuals, women farmers are enduring and inspiring changemakers for their households and neighbors. And when they act together? They become an even more formidable force for transformation.

A foundational element of an integrated approach is helping women farmers harness their shared strength. Working alongside them as they organize into self-help groups, farmer producer organizations and cooperatives lays the groundwork for individuals to solve challenges together and advocate for their interests with one determined voice.

Evidence has shown that women’s collective action has positive impacts on access to finance, livelihood diversification, knowledge exchange, group resilience and social cohesion in the context of agrifood systems. When paired with practical resources and market connections to build profitable agricultural enterprises, we see these impacts become a lever that uplifts entire communities.

Examples abound: Women farmers from 63 Heifer-supported cooperatives in Bangladesh have more than doubled their average annual household income, increasing it from $1,499 to $3,716. In Mexico, women farmers improved their production practices and provided 2 million sustainably sourced eggs to local consumers. Farmers in savings groups through a Heifer project in Nepal pooled their funds to lend a stunning $1 million in loans to women farmers to finance their businesses and households. Through another initiative in Nepal, the success of women-led groups and cooperatives drew engagements from 40 market actors and more than $630,000 in investments from local governments.

These results translate not only into more income for farming households, but to more resilient local food systems that create jobs, care for the environment and nourish families. And the throughline is not that women participated in this progress. It’s that they acted together to make it.

If we are serious about helping women farmers build sustainable food systems, we must be equally serious about investing in women’s collective potential as part of our approach. That means not limiting our support to closing gaps in resources, but looking to women farmers as catalysts and leaders whose combined abilities can meet the challenges facing food systems today.

This International Year of the Woman Farmer, join us in listening to women farmers and elevating their joint strength and voice.