Jat further stated that the conference will be formally inaugurated by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. He said the inaugural session will be attended by Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the Guest of Honour, while the valedictory session will be addressed by Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi as the Chief Guest.
Giving further details about the event, he said that the event is jointly organised by Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, (CGIAR), and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA). The conference has garnered widespread support, with over 15 national and international bodies participating as Co-organisers and Knowledge Partners and an equal number of sponsors.
Jat said that the programme is taking place during the UN-declared ‘International Year for Women Farmers‘ in 2026. The event anticipates a diverse gathering of over 700 participants, including scientists, policymakers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, development professionals, women farmers, start-ups, and students from India and around the world. The primary goal is to deliberate on strengthening policy frameworks and ecosystems to mainstream gender participation and highlight the indispensable role of women in building sustainable and inclusive agri-food systems.
It may be noted that the conference is being curated under the guidance of Chief Patron Raj S Paroda, Chairman of TAAS, alongside Patrons M L Jat, Secretary, DARE and Director General, ICAR; T. Mohapatra, Chairperson, PPV&FRA and Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director, CGIAR. The Conference Chair is Renu Swarup, former Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and Co-Chair is Rajbir Singh, DDG (Ag. Extension), ICAR.
Eminent speakers include Agnes Kalibata, Founder and Chair, Connect4Impact Advisory Group; Bram Govaerts, Director General, CIMMYT; Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson, MSSRF; Shakuntala H Thilsted, World Food Prize Laureate, Nitya Rao, Director, NISD, Norwich, UK, Nicoline de Haan, Director of Gender and Youth Accelerator Platform, ILRI, Kenya, among many others.