A Hat Is a Hat

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2026 was declared the “International Year of the Woman Farmer”. Rightfully so, one might think, because many women are working on farms. But that is not the whole picture.

Finally there is a year dedicated to the large contribution women are making to the production of food on farms. Although, that is not entirely what this dedication is about. You see, there are not only very many female workers involved in producing food in the agricultural sector. Many farms are in fact women’s businesses. That is an important difference.

As we know, statistics are sometimes like a fancy menu: You have to be pay very close attention to the ingredients to find out what you are actually being served. The odd part in this case is, that quite a few existing farms, that are mainly run by women, are not noted as such. So, farming with a female lead is not considered a successful model. Statistically. Because there are so few making a good case – well, at least in numbers.

Besides being politically incorrect in more than one way, the flawed accounting has serious consequences for women who want to start a farm business. Loans and subsidies rely on numbers and mathematical formulas to determine a sound investment. Therefore, women farmers have an unfair chance of receiving financial support for their businesses.

This is unfortunate because farming can sometimes be a viable option for women. In many regions of the world, it is the best way to stabilize income and food security for families and neighborhoods. Often, there are no men around because they are working elsewhere. Structural problems in regions, as well as wars, have that effect. Plus, running a business also means gaining social recognition beyond just contributing to the family income. The profiles of the “Millet Champions” on the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations frequently tell that same story (see Side Notes below).

In reality, farming is as much a woman’s world as it is a man’s. It’s about time we repainted those iconic pictures. After all, it doesn’t matter who grows the food. A farmer’s hat fits a woman’s head just as well as a man’s. However, changing the odds could greatly improve the livelihood of everyone involved. Shouldn’t this also be a characteristic of “good food”?

Thank you to all the farmers out there, whatever hat you may be wearing!

Side Notes:

  • You can learn a little more about this topic on the InfoByteSized page under “F” for “Farmers.” See the linked story of Sonya Kirgizova (‘The woman who grows Tajikistan’, blog content on the FAO website). The “Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment” are also very interesting (FAO, link on the InfoByteSized page).
  • I mentioned the website of the FAO and millet farming in the Ingredients Special on Millet [‘Beadily Yours’]. On the InfoByteSized page you will find the relevant links under ‘M’ as in ‘Millet’.