Women Farmers at the Forefront of Olive Oil’s Future, UN Says

Summary

The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) to raise aware­ness and pro­mote action to close gen­der gaps and improve wom­en’s liveli­hoods world­wide. Women olive oil farm­ers from var­i­ous coun­tries shared the chal­lenges they face, the val­ues that guide them, and their aspi­ra­tions in an increas­ingly uncer­tain world, high­light­ing the impor­tance of advanc­ing gen­der equal­ity and empow­er­ing women in agri­cul­ture.

The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) to spot­light the essen­tial con­tri­bu­tions of women across agri­food sys­tems. While women farm­ers play a cen­tral role in food secu­rity, nutri­tion and eco­nomic resilience, their work remains too often under­rec­og­nized. IYWF 2026 aims to raise aware­ness and pro­mote action to close gen­der gaps and improve women’s liveli­hoods world­wide.

According to the 2023 report, The sta­tus of women in agri­food sys­tems, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), agri­food sys­tems employ 36 per­cent of work­ing women and 38 per­cent of work­ing men glob­ally. However, women’s roles are fre­quently mar­gin­al­ized, and their work­ing con­di­tions are often dis­ad­van­taged due to struc­tural gen­der dis­par­i­ties dri­ven by dis­crim­i­na­tory social norms and rules affect­ing women and girls.

FAO esti­mates that clos­ing the gen­der gap, which today leaves many women in irreg­u­lar, infor­mal, low-skilled and labor-inten­sive roles, par­tic­u­larly in low- and mid­dle-income coun­tries, would increase global gross domes­tic prod­uct by 1 per­cent, or nearly USD 1 tril­lion. Such progress would reduce global food inse­cu­rity by about 2 per­cent, improv­ing food access for an esti­mated 45 mil­lion peo­ple. These fig­ures under­score that advanc­ing gen­der equal­ity and women’s empow­er­ment ben­e­fits not only women but soci­ety as a whole.

As IYWF 2026 approaches, women olive oil farm­ers from sev­eral coun­tries shared with Olive Oil Times the chal­lenges they face, the val­ues that guide them and their aspi­ra­tions in an increas­ingly uncer­tain world.

“Being a woman farmer, to me, is closely con­nected to stew­ard­ship of the land, resilience and respon­si­bil­ity,” said Cristina Stribacu, co-owner of LIÁ. ​“It goes beyond pro­duc­tion and is about con­ti­nu­ity: car­ing for the soil, mak­ing thought­ful deci­sions sea­son after sea­son and con­tribut­ing through every­day prac­tice to a more bal­anced and inclu­sive agri­cul­tural land­scape.”

Stribacu pro­duces pre­mium extra vir­gin olive oil from Koroneiki olives in the vil­lage of Filiatra, in Greece’s Messinia. Her com­pany also oper­ates the LIÁ Olive Oil Hub, con­ceived as a space for knowl­edge, edu­ca­tion and exchange. The hub recently launched Re:Olive, an edu­ca­tional pro­gram focused on regen­er­a­tion and sus­tain­able olive-grow­ing prac­tices, designed to address the evolv­ing chal­lenges faced by small pro­duc­ers.

“Today, the main chal­lenges are closely linked to cli­mate insta­bil­ity, ris­ing pro­duc­tion costs and the uncer­tainty that accom­pa­nies each har­vest,” Stribacu said. ​“For small pro­duc­ers, resilience is a daily prac­tice based on obser­va­tion, learn­ing and con­stant adap­ta­tion. My goal is to cul­ti­vate with respect for the land and pass on knowl­edge so olive grow­ing remains viable for future gen­er­a­tions.”

This per­spec­tive is shared by Ana Cardoso, co-owner of Monte do Camelo in Fronteira, in Portugal’s upper Alentejo. There, she pro­duces the award-win­ning extra vir­gin olive oil Tratturo* de Fronteira from autochtho­nous Cobrançosa and Galega olives cul­ti­vated using organic and regen­er­a­tive agri­cul­ture prin­ci­ples.

“Climate change, human resources and fair recog­ni­tion of agri­cul­tural work are among the biggest chal­lenges women farm­ers face,” Cardoso said. ​“Farming demands resilience, patience and a deep con­nec­tion to the land. I have often had to prove my tech­ni­cal com­pe­tence and lead­er­ship in a tra­di­tion­ally male-dom­i­nated sec­tor.”

Cardoso added that pri­or­i­tiz­ing qual­ity over quan­tity is both a moral and envi­ron­men­tal imper­a­tive. ​“It means farm­ing in har­mony with bio­di­ver­sity, refus­ing to over­ex­ploit the soil and pro­tect­ing a cul­tural and envi­ron­men­tal legacy that we are merely entrusted to safe­guard.”

This com­mit­ment led her to pur­sue a post­grad­u­ate degree in oleo­tourism, moti­vated by a desire to share the story of her ter­ri­tory and the respon­si­bil­ity behind pro­duc­ing high-qual­ity olive oil.

In north­east­ern Tunisia, sis­ters Afet and Selima Ben Hamouda launched A&S Extra Virgin Olive Oil in 2017. On their fam­ily estate in Mateur, they cul­ti­vate native Chétoui and Sayali vari­eties along­side Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki, and oper­ate a mill equipped with state-of-the-art tech­nol­ogy.

“We grew up immersed in farm­ing cul­ture, and adap­ta­tion is essen­tial to being a farmer today,” the sis­ters said. ​“Climate change is one of our great­est chal­lenges, so soil con­ser­va­tion and sus­tain­able prac­tices are cen­tral to our work.”

They have also imple­mented satel­lite imagery to mon­i­tor olive groves and opti­mize water use. ​“We want our work to reflect our val­ues and the authen­tic­ity of our prod­uct, while shar­ing knowl­edge so oth­ers can learn how to pro­duce qual­ity olive oil,” they added.

In Lebanon and Greece, Rose Bechara Perini founded Darmmess, a social enter­prise that pro­duces high-qual­ity, trace­able extra vir­gin olive oil sourced from small-scale farm­ers across six ter­roirs.

“Olive grow­ing teaches humil­ity, patience and stew­ard­ship,” Bechara Perini said. ​“As a woman, I have often had to prove not only my com­pe­tence but my legit­i­macy in spaces tra­di­tion­ally coded as male. These expe­ri­ences shaped how I farm and lead, with inten­tion and ethics.”

“Being a woman farmer today means car­ry­ing the future in your hands,” she added. ​“Climate, soil, bio­di­ver­sity and social equity guide daily deci­sions. The IYWF 2026 reminds us that with­out women farm­ers, there is no future for food.”