Special Event: Bringing a Feminist Edge to Gender and Agriculture

This special event will explore how feminist and gender transformative approaches (GTAs) are shaping development work with rural women across research, activism, and institutional practice. Framed within the context of the International Year of Rural Women, the session invites participants to reflect on how feminist ideas are applied in different agricultural and food system contexts.

The panel will bring together diverse perspectives. Speakers from grassroots organizations, universities, and international agencies will share practical examples from their work with smallholder farmers and rural communities.  Topics will include participatory research methods, women’s collective action, strengthening local organizations, and influencing agricultural policies and institutions.

The event aims to create a practical conversation about what works, what does not, and how GTAs can support more equitable agricultural systems. A central focus of the seminar will be the opportunities and challenges that arise as gender transformative approaches are adopted by larger organizations and development programs. How do these approaches change when they move from grassroots activism into policy and institutional practice? What challenges emerge in political and funding environments that may not always support feminist goals? How can researchers, practitioners, and women’s organizations work together to ensure that gender work leads to meaningful improvements in rural women’s lives?