From the beginning of January this year, the global farming community began observing 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026). The overarching goal of the IYWF is to highlight women’s vital role in agriculture, address challenges such as unequal access to resources, and promote women’s empowerment for food security and sustainable development.
When the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization declared 2026 as the IYWF, Bangladesh -- being a sponsor of the UN resolution -- demonstrated its commitment to the cause and expressed an avowed stance to actively support this global initiative through projects and policy engagement, recognizing the crucial contribution of female farmers to national food systems.
However, when it comes to dismantling the barriers that continuously impede Bangladesh’s female farm workers, the country appears to be doing very little.
Without ensuring equal access to land and financial resources, the IYWF risks becoming merely a symbolic celebration in Bangladesh, failing to bring any tangible transformation to the lives and livelihoods of millions of women engaged in farming and food production.
Globally, 43% of agricultural workers are women. In Bangladesh, women make up as much as 50% of the agricultural labour force. Rural women are generally responsible for most homestead-based agricultural activities and make significant contributions at every stage of the production process.
They are involved in at least 17 types of agricultural work, including seed conservation and selection, sowing, harvesting, winnowing, sun-drying, preserving, and marketing. They are also at the forefront of producing eggs, milk, vegetables, dried fish, and other essential food items.
Despite being central to food production, Bangladeshi women farmers often lack access to land, credit, technology, and fair wages. While policies such as the National Women Development Policy (NWDP) 2011 and the National Agricultural Extension Policy (NAEP) 2012 acknowledge their role, implementation remains weak -- particularly in ensuring equal pay and equitable resource distribution.
Access to mechanized tools and equipment is especially limited. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), only about 5–7% of agricultural machinery users in Bangladesh are women.
In most cases, women are not landowners. They are rarely involved in the day-to-day supervision of fields, although they are present during labour-intensive work. Women are usually absent from weekly markets and are often excluded from decision-making regarding investments and the use of income generated from crops, fisheries, or dairy production.
Agriculture remains a predominantly male domain. Men own the land, access credit from financial institutions, and are the primary beneficiaries of training and technology transfer programmes in most cases. Women produce many staple and cash crops, as well as fisheries and dairy products. However, buying and selling are largely controlled by men, who collect the monetary returns and decide how those proceeds are used.
Bangladesh’s women farmers are victims of systemic inheritance injustice, as men own more than 85% of all landholdings in the country, while women largely toil on land they can never claim as their own. Because of their limited land ownership, women are considered less creditworthy, receive lower wages, have reduced access to financial and input support, and are often excluded from government agricultural extension services.
When women do not own the land they cultivate, their primary sources of income and food remain insecure, and they are unable to make critical decisions about sustainable land management -- especially in the face of the climate crisis. Without access to land, finance, training, inputs, and equipment, women cannot produce effectively, achieve financial stability or food security, or expand their enterprises.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a UN body working for smallholders across the Global South, has estimated that if women farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, 100–150 million people could be lifted out of hunger globally, while also increasing resilience to climate change.
Women’s poor status in land ownership, however, is not unique to Bangladesh. Although nearly one in two farmers worldwide are women, they are far less likely than men to hold legal title to the land they cultivate. While 164 countries formally recognize women’s rights to own, use, and make decisions about land, religious and social norms mean these rights are effectively accessible in only 52 countries.
Progressive policy directions occasionally emerge as flickers of hope, only to be shelved before reaching the implementation stage. During Sheikh Hasina’s tenure, Bangladesh adopted a women’s policy that aspired to establish women’s rights over resources, including land. However, protests by religious groups prevented its translation into reality.
Similarly, under the interim Prof Yunus-led administration, a government-mandated commission produced a strong set of recommendations to ensure women’s entitlements. Yet these efforts were derailed when extremists threatened commission members for submitting their report. The government failed to stand firmly behind women’s causes, allowing the perpetrators to escape accountability.
These developments are deeply disheartening. Without moving forward on progressive policy reforms, women in farming are unlikely to see meaningful improvements in the foreseeable future. The observance of IYWF 2026 will remain a formality, bringing no real change to an agricultural economy where women play roles as vital as those of men.
Bangladesh must now reflect on whether it can afford to fail its vast community of women farmers, without whom national food security could face severe challenges amid escalating climate stress.
According to a 2022 World Bank report, 13.3 million people in Bangladesh could become internal migrants over the next 30 years due to climate impacts on agriculture, water scarcity, and rising sea levels -- effects that will disproportionately affect women.
In cases of severe flooding, GDP could fall by as much as 9%. The costs of environmental degradation and natural disasters are expected to rise over time, compounded by increasing heat, humidity, and health impacts.
If the realities of a climate-stressed agricultural future are any indication, Bangladesh has little choice but to rally behind its women farmers. With rightful access to land, credit, and market linkages, they could become saviours in times of food insecurity.
Bangladeshi women are already leaders in climate-smart adaptation. In coastal areas, they have pioneered floating gardens and the cultivation of saline-tolerant crops to cope with rising sea levels and frequent flooding.
The observance of IYWF 2026 should not be limited to events and ceremonial programs. Instead, it must be used as an opportunity to introduce policies and investments that close gender gaps in agrifood systems.
This year should be remembered as a turning point -- when initiatives were taken to provide women farmers with training, resources, education, finance, and decision-making power. Strong efforts must also be made to enhance women’s leadership and market access through cooperatives, thereby building more inclusive and resilient food systems for all.
Reaz Ahmad is Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
