India to Host Global Conference on Women in Agri-Food Systems

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 12 March 2026

• The GCWAS-2026 will take place from March 12-14, 2026 in New Delhi
• The venue for the GCWAS-2026 will be at the ICAR Convention Centre located in the NASC Complex
• President Droupadi Murmu will officiate at the opening ceremony of GCWAS-2026

According to an announcement made by M L Jat, the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), the conference will be held from March 12 through March 14, 2026, at the Bharat Ratna C Subramaniam Hall located within the ICAR Convention Centre in the NASC Complex in New Delhi.

The conference will open on March 12, 2026, with Droupadi Murmu, The President of India, as the chief guest and Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Union Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development) the guest of honour. On March 14, 2025, the final address will be provided by Annapurna Devi, Minister for Women and Child Development.

The Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Science (TAAS) and ICAR along with other groups such as CGIAR; and PPV​are organizing this event. There are over 15 international agencies that support this event as Co-Organizers and Knowledge Partners, in addition to several sponsors.

This conference is also being hosted during the UN mandated International Year for Women Farmers in 2026. It is anticipated that more than 700 participants (including scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, women farmers, start-ups, and students) from both India and abroad will attend.

The overall goal of this conference is to discuss ways to enhance policy framework and ecosystem for increasing the participation of women in agriculture; and demonstrate the value that women contribute to building and maintaining sustainable and inclusive agri food systems.

The conference will be addressed by renowned speakers including Agnes Kalibata, Founder and Chair of Connect4Impact Advisory Group; Bram Govaerts, Director General of CIMMYT; Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of MSSRF; Shakuntala H Thilsted, World Food Prize Laureate; Nitya Rao, Director of NISD, Norwich, UK; Nicoline de Haan, Director of the Gender and Youth Accelerator Platform at ILRI, Kenya, among others.