In China’s Mu Us Sandy Land, Yin Yuzhen began planting trees on land threatened by desertification. Decades later, her work has helped restore nearly 5,000 hectares and bring more than eight million trees to the area. At a ceremony in Rome, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations named her its 100th Women Hero in Agrifood Systems and Rural Development.
The honor was part of an initiative launched by the FAO to mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026. It also took place around the International Day of Rural Women, observed each year on 15 October. The day recognizes rural women’s role in farming, rural development, food security and efforts to reduce poverty in rural areas.
The FAO selected women from different regions and professions. They include farmers, entrepreneurs, researchers, educators and community leaders. Their work ranges from protecting biodiversity and advancing innovation to sharing knowledge and helping communities withstand hunger, poverty and climate change.
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu opened the ceremony at the organization’s headquarters in Rome by recalling his grandmother, who raised him in a small village in China. She taught him to farm and cook, and to value hard work, resilience and respect for the land. He said the knowledge she passed on came from generations of women before her. “And that is how knowledge changes the world,” QU said.
Yin was the final honoree to be announced. The FAO had revealed the other 99 in the days before the event. Her decades of work in the Mu Us Sandy Land began with planting trees in an area facing desertification. The restoration around her home has helped support agriculture, livelihoods and local communities, while more than eight million trees have been planted across the area.
The group was chosen from 609 nominations submitted by 131 FAO Members. The process was designed to encourage wide participation, geographic balance and transparency. The FAO first checked nominations against its requirements and country quotas, then had senior management assess and rank eligible candidates. Senior leaders held two further rounds of deliberations before the organization’s Senior Leadership Committee approved the final 100.
The honorees’ varied work shows how many parts of food and rural life depend on women’s knowledge and leadership, from producing food and protecting natural resources to running businesses and supporting communities. Their recognition also gives attention to work that can be easy to overlook: years of effort to restore land, strengthen livelihoods and pass practical knowledge to others.
The ceremony took place during the World Food Forum 2026 at FAO headquarters in Rome. The forum culminates in World Food Day on 16 October. By recognizing women working across agrifood systems, the FAO is highlighting their contributions not as a single story, but as many forms of work shaping how communities grow food, care for land and face challenges ahead.