With President Arnold Puech d’Alissac completing his second and final term, the World Farmers’ Organisation faces an open race for its Presidency. Member organisations will gather in Nairobi on 10 June to choose between two candidates — Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha of Kenya and Fiona Simson of Australia.

On 10 June 2026, the member organisations of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) will convene in Nairobi, Kenya, for the 2026 Session of the WFO General Assembly — the Organisation’s highest decision-making body — to elect the President who will guide their global farming community through the 2026–2028 term. The vote takes place during the WFO Annual Meeting, held this year under the theme “Future Fields.”

This election marks a turning point. Current President Arnold Puech d’Alissac, of France’s Fédération nationale des syndicats d’exploitants agricoles (FNSEA), is completing his second consecutive mandate. Under the WFO’s governance rules, the President may serve only two consecutive terms — so the 2026 vote is an open race, with the Assembly choosing between two candidates, each ready to bring a new region and a fresh vision to the Organisation’s highest office.

The two candidates are Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha (Kenya) and Fiona Simson (Australia), listed below in alphabetical order by surname.

Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha

Daniel M’Mailutha’s path toward the WFO Presidency began on a small coffee farm in Meru, in Kenya’s Mt. Kenya region, where his father’s membership in the local coffee cooperative offered an early lesson in the strength farmers find in acting together. That lesson shaped a career. After studying agriculture and working as a field officer for the Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF), he completed graduate studies, spent several years in the United States, then returned home to teach agricultural policy at his alma mater and to establish a dairy and apiculture farm in Nakuru, in the Rift Valley.

Since November 2018, he has served as Chief Executive Officer of KENAFF, the host organisation for this year’s Annual Meeting. Across more than two decades in farmer empowerment, he has worked to strengthen farmer representation throughout Africa, including within the policymaking processes of the African Union, and has carried the farmers’ voice to global arenas — among them Berlin’s Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, the climate and biodiversity COPs, the United Nations General Assembly (2024), the Farmers’ G20 in Siracusa, Italy (2024), the UN Food Systems Summits, and the World Economic Forum’s Food Innovation Hubs.

From his candidacy statement:

“My father’s membership in the local coffee cooperative introduced me to the power of farmers working together for a stronger voice.“

Fiona Simson

An Australian family farmer, Fiona Simson has been part of the WFO community for more than a decade and an advocate for farmers since 2008, rising from her local farmer group to national and international leadership. She served a full seven-year term as President of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) of Australia (2016–2023) and chaired the Cairns Group Farm Leaders over the same period, earning a reputation as a determined champion of farmers and of the sustainability of farms, people and rural communities.

Within the WFO, she has contributed through the Women Committee and the Trade Working Group, served on the Board of Directors for the Oceania constituency, and currently holds the office of WFO Vice-President. Her broader portfolio reflects a deep engagement with the science and policy of food systems: she chairs the Future Food Systems CRC and the Agricultural Biotechnology Council of Australia, is a member of the Australian Climate Change Authority, and sits on the boards of ACIAR and Foodbank Australia. Having completed her term at the NFF, she stands ready to serve the WFO in a fully independent capacity.

From her candidacy statement:

“In the Year of the Woman Farmer I am now willing to put up my hand to serve at the highest level.”

The Role of the WFO President and What Happens Next

The WFO President guides the Organisation’s policy direction and oversees the correct implementation of the decisions taken by the General Assembly. Since the WFO’s establishment in 2011, the office has been held by leaders from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zambia, New Zealand, South Africa and France. Because the Presidency is limited to two consecutive terms, the 2026 election guarantees a change at the helm of the Organisation.

The decision now rests with the WFO’s member organisations, who will cast their votes in Nairobi on 10 June. Whichever candidate prevails, the 2026–2028 term opens a new chapter for the World Farmers’ Organisation and for the farmers it represents in every corner of the world.

Cover photo: ©WFO