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MARIA LINIBI IS RECIPIENT needs and solutions of women first, and working in one of the
OF THE 2024
WIN DRR EXCELLENCE AWARD
Maria Linibi’s work supporting more than
20,000 women farmers across Papua New
Guinea has been recognised through a
significant global award this year.
Linibi is the recipient of the 2024
Women’s International Network for Disaster
Risk Reduction (WIN DRR) Excellence
Award, recognised for her exceptional
professional success in disaster risk
reduction and represent the expertise
and experiences that are needed to find
solutions to understanding, preventing, and
reducing the increasing disaster risk in the
most disaster-prone region of the world.
Linibi hails from PNG’s Highlands region,
and is the daughter of a coffee farmer;
as a young child, she used to help him
with the crop. Now as the head of the
Papua New Guinea Women in Agriculture
Development Foundation (WiADF), Linibi
is a champion of climate-resilient farming
systems. She works across a wide
spectrum of stakeholders, from traditional
leaders to research institutions, to promote
indigenous crops and low-cost irrigation
and agroforestry systems that mitigate the
impacts of drought.
And she has done this by putting the
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14 Islands Business, December 2024
Farmers at the frontline
most linguistically and culturally diverse nations on the globe.
While living in Morobe Province, Linibi came to farming
relatively late, at 38 years of age, after being retrenched from her of climate change
government job. Her specific achievements are too numerous to
list but include securing funding for the installation of solar rice Small-scale family farmers like those supported and led by
mills for women farmers and the installation of solar water pumps, Maria Linibi produce a third of the world’s food and are on the
which provide irrigation and potable water while relieving the
frontline of the climate crisis. However, they receive just 0.3%
burden on women who previously carried 20-litre containers of of international climate finance to support adaption to this
water up to 20 kilometers. crisis. Family farmers are pioneering the solutions needed to
Linibi is an advocate and broker, sitting at the centre of a vast tackle the climate, nature, and food crisis, yet are sidelined by
network of people, information and opportunities, and connecting governments and overlooked by funders.
people in her networks with opportunities and resources. An
exceptional leader, she also sits on the Board of the Pacific Island The Pacific Islands region is already experiencing significant
Farmers Organisation Network (PIFON). climate-related challenges which will intensify in coming years.
While much of Linibi’s work is on the ground, in farms and Threats include extreme weather events such as floods,
villages, she is also a powerful advocate on the international landslides, droughts, cyclones, and storm surges, which are
stage as a representative of Pacific women farmers at the becoming more frequent and severe. These events have
Policy Dialogue on Women in Agriculture and Fisheries at the devastating effects on agriculture, infrastructure, and livelihoods,
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting and the Food and particularly in rural areas where communities are heavily
Agriculture Organization’s Asia Pacific Regional Conference. Her dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods.
presence in these spaces has ensured the voices of Papua New
Guinea and Pacific women farmers are heard and addressed at Communities in more remote locations, who live in less
the highest levels of decision-making. productive environments and are part of more marginalised
But it is in sharing fellow farmers’ successes that she finds most groups, including women, are even more vulnerable. Climate
joy—whether it is a farmer receiving their first payment for a new change directly threatens their food security, livelihoods, and
crop to a group venturing into agri-processing or an entrepreneur overall resilience.
launching their first agri-business. Pacific Farmer Organisations (PFO), a regional farmer
“Empowering women farmers and amplifying their voices
in policy discussions is not just about improving agricultural organisation network based in Fiji with a regional office in
practices; it’s about creating a more equitable and resilient future Hawaii, seeks to address these vulnerabilities by empowering
for all.” Farmer Organisations to support their members to adapt to the
Linibi adds: “The role of women in agriculture in nation building changing climate and enhance their resilience. Small farmers
is very critical at this stage, because agriculture is the backbone make up a majority of the Pacific population and Farmer
of this country. For women farmers, don’t give up; we are getting Organisations are ideally placed to support them to respond to
there. We are fighting for markets for our produce, we are fighting climate change.
for subsidies for air freight costs, so that we can sell. In the end, In March 2023, PFO launched its Climate Resilient Farming
they will see that we are empowered.”
(CRF) Framework with key development partners. It aims to
protect and enhance the livelihoods for Pacific farmers by
helping them adapt to the threat of changing climate and natural
disasters. The framework has three interrelated pillars: Climate
Resilient Farming Households, Farmers’ Voices, and Stronger
Farmer Organisations.
This initiative is the result of many years of advocacy and
influencing work by PFO and its members to have farmers’
voices heard on climate change and resourcing for adaptation.
PFO’s CRF framework has been developed over the last ten
years as the Organisation has expanded and developed, with
specific financial support from the FO4ACP program. This
work has seen PFO and its national members to participate
at COP28, participate at multiple regional and global climate
events, and publish papers on the role of farmer organisations
and climate change.
With access to climate finance, farmer organisations can help
smallholder farmers adapt to climate change through low cost
adaptation strategies such as agroforestry, soil conservation,
crop nutrition management, and other practices.
The CRF framework is being resourced by the European
Union, Australian Government and the International Fund for
Agricultural Development.
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