The twenty-year-old girl, Ilana Dourado, went viral on social media after publishing a video where she drives a high-powered tractor over a horizon in the cotton field. Recorded during the cotton planting season in Maranhão, the video already has more than 2 million views.
The content resonated as a representation of the transformation of the female presence in Brazilian agriculture. The young woman stood out for dealing with a routine that requires technical precision and mastery of technology. On good days, it can plant up to 130 hectares of cotton.
Ilana did not pursue the profession because of a childhood dream, but she found operating agricultural machinery a high-performance career. “It wasn’t exactly what I dreamed of, but it’s what I knew how to develop and I intend to continue. I feel fulfilled”, she states in the video.
The young woman’s experience reflects a central point for FAO in the International Year of Women Farmers: access to technical training as a decisive factor in reducing historical inequalities and expanding opportunities for women in the field.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) declared 2026 the year of Women Farmers. In addition to giving visibility to cases like Ilana’s, the initiative aims to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in agri-food systems.
Despite inspiring stories like that of the young woman, the challenge for global agriculture is to scale this inclusion. The FAO points out that, despite playing a central role in food production, women still face inequalities in access to resources, technology, credit and technical training.
The International Year of Women Farmers 2026 appears as a call to expand public policies, investments and regionalized training programs.
Ilana is one of the young women who had the opportunity to participate in the machine operator course offered by the Semear program, a project aimed at training women machine operators.
Semear is an initiative by SLC Agrícola in partnership with the Maranhense Association of Cotton Producers (AMAPA), which promotes the qualification of women to strengthen gender equity in agribusiness. Aimed at technical training and professional insertion in the field, the program combines theory and practice in operating agricultural machinery.
On the other hand, the Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (Abrapa) has intensified actions to increase female participation in national cotton farming. The country is the world’s largest exporter of cotton fiber, and Maranhão, where llana operates at Fazenda Potência, in the municipality of Balsas (MA), has established itself as a new hub for technology and productivity in cotton farming.
Cultural change in the work environment also directly impacts the well-being of women in the field, as revealed by Ilana, who highlights respect and politeness for colleagues as part of the routine. According to her, “The boys are well-mannered, when I don’t know something they try to help and everyone respects me. We feel comfortable.”
