Global Commitment to Women's Empowerment

Exam-Focused Notes on Global Conference on Women in Agriculture and Food Systems (GCWAS-2026)

Event Overview:

• The Global Conference on Women in Agriculture and Food Systems (GCWAS-2026) concluded in New Delhi, renewing commitments to empower women in agriculture and food systems.
• Attendees included key figures such as Dr. M.L. Jat (Director General of ICAR), emphasizing the need for action towards gender equality in agriculture.

Key Announcements:

• National Gender Platform: ICAR announced the development of a National Gender Platform linking over 900 agricultural institutions. This aims to strengthen research, extension, and capacity-building initiatives focused on women in agriculture.

Objectives:

• To enhance women's leadership, participation, and innovation within agriculture and food systems.
• To promote gender-sensitive policies and inclusive innovations for sustainable agricultural development.

Major Highlights:

• Dr. M.L. Jat stressed the importance of transitioning discussions into concrete actions to support evidence-based policymaking and strengthen social science research in agricultural value chains.
• The Delhi Declaration was adopted, calling for a global alliance to promote gender-sensitive policies and institutional reforms in agricultural food systems.

Statistics and Economic Relevance:

• Women contribute 60-70% of labor in the agricultural sector, indicating their vital role in food security and sustainable agriculture systems.
• Enhancing women's access to knowledge, markets, and training is crucial for achieving food security and poverty reduction.

Judicial and Policy Framework:

• The conference emphasized the need for gender-responsive budgets and the systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data.
• It encourages periodic gender audits and transparent progress reporting mechanisms to strengthen accountability.

Global Participation:

• Delegates from 18 countries attended, indicating the conference's global significance in advancing dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange on women's empowerment in agricultural systems.
• Various international experts and leaders shared insights, including Nobel laureates and heads of global research organizations.

Technical Sessions Focused on:

1. Global dialogues with women leaders
2. Accelerating progress in gender equality
3. Mainstreaming gender equality and social inclusion
4. Emerging technologies for gender transformation
5. Building female leadership in agriculture and food sectors
6. Economic empowerment through inclusive policies
7. Gender dynamics in access to policies and markets
8. Young leaders in the agricultural food sector

Key Recommendations:

• Integration of science, policy, and development to promote women's leadership roles in agriculture.
• Simplification of regulatory processes to support women entrepreneurs in seed value chains.
• Strengthening institutional capacities to enhance collaboration between government programs, research institutions, and the private sector.
• Emphasis on digital inclusion, climate-resilient agriculture, and creating non-agricultural livelihood opportunities for women.

Future Directions:

• The outcomes from GCWAS-2026 aim to inform policy guidelines and accelerate efforts to empower women farmers, scientists, and entrepreneurs.
• The conference reinforced India’s commitment to recognizing and strengthening women’s roles in agriculture and food systems, demonstrated during its inauguration by President Droupadi Murmu.

This conference serves as a crucial platform for sharing successful initiatives and research insights to foster global partnerships aimed at empowering women in agriculture.