Regional workshop opens 14 October with Cambodia Day, in collaboration with the Kingdom of Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – 14 October, more than 300 Government officials, farmers' organisations, Indigenous women, civil society and development partners from across Asia meet in Phnom Penh from 14 to 17 October 2026 to shape a regional roadmap for the rights and economic empowerment of women farmers. The workshop, “The Importance of Women in Agriculture: Land Value, Agro-ecology, Resilience and Climate in Asia”, is organised by the National Land Coalition (NLC) Cambodia and the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) with the International Land Coalition (ILC), in collaboration with Cambodia's Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and other civil society organisations.
Women are the backbone of Asia's farms. In Cambodia and Lao PDR they make up as much as 78–81% of agricultural workers, yet across Asia women own less than 15% of land on average. Without secure land rights, millions are shut out of credit, agricultural services and government programmes.
The opening day, Cambodia Day, is organised in collaboration with the Kingdom of Cambodia and will be opened by H.E. Mr. Tek Reth Samrech, Permanent Secretary of State at the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction.
“The voices of women farmers must be heard. Women are not merely beneficiaries; they are land users, natural resource managers, food producers, keepers of local knowledge, and leaders in their families and communities,” says H.E. Tek Reth Samrech.
On 15 October, International Day of Rural Women, participants will visit communities leading work on women-led agroecology, mangrove conservation and climate-smart farming, before agreeing on a Cambodia Action Plan and a Regional Roadmap.
“Women farmers don’t lack knowledge, courage or solutions. What they still lack is recognition, rights and the power to make decisions,” says Anu Verma, Regional Coordinator for ILC Asia. “Through this gathering and the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we are working to turn recognition into rights and action: to ensure that development does not come at the expense of communities and women farmers, and to shift power rather than simply include women in existing systems.”
“When women farmers hold secure rights to their land and natural resources with recognition and support their full potentials, whole communities become more resilient, and have a sustainable future,” says Soeung Saroeun, Executive Director of the NGO Forum on Cambodia and Chair of the ILC Asia Steering Committee.
Media contact
Mr. Soeung Saroeun, Executive Director, NGO Forum on Cambodia · saroeun@ngoforum.org.kh, +855-85 777 954
About the organisers
NGO Forum on Cambodia is a membership-based organisation established in the 1980s.
NLC Cambodia is a multi-stakeholder national land coalition platform supported by ILC.
The International Land Coalition (ILC) is a global alliance of civil society and farmers’ organisations, UN agencies, NGOs and research institutes working together to put people at the centre of land governance.
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