- 19 September 2025
- Posted by: Competere
- Categories: events, highlights, Resilient Food Systems, Sustainable Oils & Fats
Women Farmers, Sustainability, and Food SecurityFAO
Rome, 19 September 2025
We had the privilege to contribute to the roundtable “Sustainability and the Role of Woman Farmer in Agrifood Systems“, hosted by the the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome. The event, organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Rome in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution that declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, brought together governments, international organizations, and experts to highlight the essential contributions of women farmers and to reflect on the barriers they still face.
Women Farmers at the Heart of Climate and Food Security
Pietro Paganini joined a distinguished panel of speakers from Indonesia, the United States, and the FAO. His contribution focused on a crucial point: climate change is not only about carbon and forests. It is also about food. Without food security, there is no climate security. At the center of this equation are women farmers, who feed, adapt, and sustain communities, yet remain too often invisible, without land rights, credit, or access to markets.
Raising Concerns on the EUDR
Paganini raised concerns about the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). While its intention to protect forests is noble, its design risks excluding millions of smallholders, especially women, from EU supply chains. The requirements of geolocation, land tenure proof, and complex due diligence are difficult even for large corporations, let alone for small farmers in places like Sulawesi or Sumatra. Excluding them would weaken livelihoods, deepen inequality, and paradoxically create more, not less, pressure on forests.
From Exclusion to Empowerment
Integration, not exclusion. Women farmers must be empowered with access to credit, technology, and fair markets. Digital platforms, blockchain traceability, and innovative finance mechanisms are already available; the challenge is to use them effectively to build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems.
The choice before us is clear: empowerment or exclusion. Only by choosing empowerment can we achieve true sustainability.
A Glimpse into the Event
