About 1,500 women farmers from 12 states attended the Women Farmers' Day hosted by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) here on Friday.

Recognising the contribution of women to agriculture is critical to achieve global food security, ICRISAT Director General William Dar said, addressing farmers. The ICRISAT Women Farmers' Day is a celebration of achievements by India's outstanding women farmers whose ingenious and resourceful ways have placed them at the forefront in the fight against poverty, hunger, malnutrition and environmental degradation, the institute said in a statement issued here today.

At the event, ICRISAT recognised achievements of women farmer leaders, especially chosen for leadership qualities they displayed in their communities and their achievements despite personal and social difficulties.

Thirty women were recognised as gold category awardees and another 53 women were declared silver awardees as a token recognition for their exemplary leadership and to encourage them to motivate others to take up leadership roles.

Farmers from 12 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Jharkhand, participated in today's event held at ICRISAT's global headquarters here.

- PTI