Celebrating women in agriculture

I wouldn't trade my lifestyle for anything in the world. So my goal at the farm is to be the best that we can. Try to definitely leave our environment better than we found it. You're learning to work the land so you can provide for yourself and your families. I enjoy being outside and being one with nature. In the US, more than 1 in 3 farmers and ranchers are women, and on more than half of farms, women are directly involved in running those operations. Globally, more than 36% of working women earn their livelihoods from agrifood systems. From farms to labs to markets, women play an essential role in our agricultural systems globally. Recognizing this as a priority, the UN sponsored the resolution for the International Year of the Woman Farmer. This was co-sponsored by more than 100 nations. Globally, we can see that celebrating and recognizing the role of women in agriculture is a priority. For the GAP Initiative, this is especially important because as we increase women farmers' access to productivity-enhancing tools, we can add more than $1 trillion to the global economy and bring more than 45 million out of food insecurity. I really care about our production systems being both economically viable for our farmers and sustainable for our environment, and accessible for our community. My goal here is really to just make a difference. The role of women throughout the agrifood system is also really critical. They are in boardrooms to ministries, and they play a direct role in determining what research is funded and what policies and programs are implemented globally. These efforts shape access to productivity-enhancing tools for both men and women farmers, so engaging with women throughout the agrifood system is critical to our efforts in accelerating sustainable agricultural productivity growth. This is also central to the land-grant mission, from educating the next generation of women farmers, researchers, and policymakers, to extending access to productivity-enhancing tools to women farmers, to extending this work globally in our development efforts. The land-grant system has a critical role to play in celebrating and uplifting women throughout our agrifood systems.