Tanya Watson comes to our Women & Agriculture conference with quite a fresh perspective on female land ownership in Ireland. In fact, Tanya isn’t from a farm and she is not Irish, which makes her study on this topic all the more interesting. With no bias, this Canadian lady has undertaken some very interesting research on female land ownership and the possibilities it holds for their active participation in agriculture.

But how did a lady from Canada end up living in Mallow, Co Cork? “Love of course,” she laughs. Tanya met her husband John, who comes from Killarney, while studying Women Studies in Trinity College.

“John is from a farming background, and I spent a lot of time with his uncle who is a dairy farmer, walking the land, listening to his stories.”

“I started working with rural development groups in Cork, which was really interesting. I was working on a collaborative project with women in Ireland, Wales and Sweden and during that time I noticed that so many women were coming forward, looking to drive the farm forward with innovative ideas. They were also looking for educational opportunities in order to allow them to diversify the business. This is where my interest peaked and shortly after I started my fellowship with Teagasc, concentrating on women and land ownership.”

Tanya’s studies have highlighted the inequalities of land ownership in Ireland, with only 12% of women owning agricultural properties in Ireland. While many people are aware of this inequality, Tanya highlights the impact of it.

“Partnership is important, and without it, it can really impact on inequality within the farming household and the direction the business takes. During my talk at the Women & Agriculture conference, I’ll also give an overview of the strategies women farm owners use to overcome constraints, such as gender discrimination, and the various resources they use to achieve their goals.

“It’s a very interesting area and having more female participation and decision making on farms will not only benefit the family business but also the agricultural industry.”