Women farmers regional gathering | NLC Cambodia

the context

Across Asia, women are the backbone of agriculture and rural economies, playing a vital role in food and nutrition security, natural resource management, and climate resilience. In many countries, women account for more than 60% of the agricultural labour force, with participation reaching 70–80% in parts of Southeast Asia. Yet, despite their substantial contributions across the agricultural value chain, women remain largely invisible in legal, policy, and institutional frameworks.

Global and regional commitments are increasingly recognising the importance of empowering women in agriculture, but progress across Asia remains uneven, particularly for Indigenous women, pastoralists, smallholders and other marginalised groups who face multiple and intersecting forms of exclusion.

2026 is an important year for women farmers, as the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF) marks a move beyond visibility toward practical commitments, strengthened partnerships and action-oriented policy dialogue.

ILC Asia is hosting the regional gathering on women farmers' land tenure and resources, connecting grassroots experiences with policy dialogue and regional collaboration in partnership with the National Land Coalition (NLC) Cambodia, Family Farming Platform and the Women's Land Rights constituency.

objectives of the gathering

• Tenure security for women farmers
  • Concrete policy recommendations
• Regional evidence and knowledge: women farmers & agroecology
  • Practises, innovations and case studies
• Cambodia action plan and regional roadmap
  • Endorsed plan and roadmap: secure women's tenure and resources

expected outcomes

• Formation of or Strengthening Existing Inclusive and multi actors’ partnership for collective action
  • Scaling up women-led agroecology, climate resilient and biodiversity stewardship initiatives for sustainable food systems, inclusive rural development and nature protection across Asia
• Regional and national policy dialogues
  • Enabling conditions for collection action: strengthening dialogues on women farmers' secure and equitable access to land and natural resources