Syngenta Vegetable Seeds is calling on women and allies across agrifood to submit their stories for the UN’s International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026
Syngenta Vegetable Seeds is celebrating the United Nations’ International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 (IYWF 2026) by helping amplify the voices of women across agriculture and inviting them to share their stories.
Women farmers play an ”essential and often unsung role” in sustaining the agrifood systems that feed the world, it said, with the group looking to help bring their experiences, leadership, and impact into the spotlight.
Declared by the UN, IYWF 2026 recognises women farmers’ contributions across all segments of agrifood systems, from crop production and post-harvest processing to distribution, trade, and beyond.
”In 2021, women made up 41 per cent of the global agrifood workforce, yet rural women still face disproportionate barriers to resources, land, and economic opportunity,” Syngenta pointed out.
IYWF 2026 calls on organisations, governments, and individuals to recognise, value, and invest in empowering women in agriculture.
Empowering women in agriculture strengthens entire communities and drives meaningful, lasting impact, including advancing food security and reducing hunger and poverty, improving the quality of life and long-term security for women farmers and their families, and strengthening women’s leadership and expanding access to learning, training, and tools, it continued.
“Women farmers are the growers, decision-makers, innovators, and caregivers who keep food moving from field to table, and their work is the foundation of thriving communities,” said Walkyhr Macy, customer experience specialist, west US, at Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.
“We want to recognise women contributing on farms, in businesses, and in research and education along with the often-unseen, unpaid roles that sustain families and communities.”
To honour and celebrate women in agriculture, Syngenta is inviting women and allies across the agrifood system, including growers, processors, dealers, researchers, educators, and more, to share stories of how they are empowering women farmers.
Participants are invited to submit a photo and a short description of the impact they’re making in their fields, workplaces, and communities.
Selected submissions will be showcased at Syngenta’s Future of Veg Field Day events, taking place 11-13 August in Woodland, California and Plainfield, Wisconsin.
Fernanda Ferraro, marketing head, west US, said the initiative is an extension of Syngenta’s broader commitment to making a real-world difference.
“At Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, we’re working to transform how vegetables are grown, harvested, processed, shipped, marketed, and consumed to support a more sustainable world,” Ferraro said.
“For the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we’re proud to help amplify the voices of women and to recognise their impact by sharing their stories at Future of Veg.”
