New Delhi | Agricultural research body ICAR on Sunday said it is developing a national gender platform connecting more than 900 institutions to strengthen women's role in farming, as an international conference adopted a declaration for a global alliance to boost their leadership across agri-food systems.
Addressing the closing session of the Global Conference on Women in Agri-Food Systems (GCWAS-2026) on Saturday, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General ML Jat said the platform would link ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural universities to strengthen research, extension and capacity-building initiatives focused on women in agriculture.
The three-day conference here, attended by delegates from 18 countries, concluded with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration, which calls for establishing a Global Alliance on Women in Agri-Food Systems, an official statement said.
The declaration commits stakeholders to champion gender-responsive policies, ensure women's access to land, finance, technology and digital innovation, promote women-led entrepreneurship, and establish accountability mechanisms, including periodic gender audits.
"Empowering women with knowledge, data, and decision-making roles can significantly enhance farm productivity, profitability, and sustainability," Jat said, calling for stronger inter-institutional collaboration to translate the conference's deliberations into concrete outcomes.
Former Department of Biotechnology Secretary Renu Swarup, who presented the conference's key recommendations, also called for the systematic collection of gender-disaggregated data across agri-food value chains to support evidence-based policymaking.
RS Paroda, Chairman of TAAS, noted that women contribute between 60 and 70 per cent of agricultural labour globally, yet remain locked out of credit, markets and decision-making.
"Empowering farm women must move beyond dialogue to decisive action," he said.
Trilochan Mohapatra, Chairman of PPV & FRA, flagged a largely overlooked group -- women who conserve plant genetic resources and traditional agricultural knowledge at the grassroots, calling for formal recognition and financial support for their contributions to biodiversity preservation.
The conference, inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu on March 12, featured nine technical sessions covering topics ranging from disruptive technologies to climate resilience and drew participation from international bodies including CIMMYT, WorldFish and the Borlaug Foundation.
