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Title: Watch: women are farming’s ‘secret weapon’ for the future
Farmers, politicians and policymakers gathered in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss how best to further support and promote women in agriculture. Caitríona Morrissey reports.
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Watch: women are farming’s ‘secret weapon’ for the future
Farmers, politicians and policymakers gathered in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss how best to further support and promote women in agriculture. Caitríona Morrissey reports.
Peter Power, European Commission Representation in Ireland; farmers Hannah Quinn Mulligan, Sophie Bell and Teresa Roche; and Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon, launching the Women Step Into Farming campaign. \ Conor McCabe.
Women are Irish farming’s “secret weapon” when it comes to farm sustainability and farm succession, according to Dr Maura Farrell from University of Galway.
A survey of 200 women in Ireland and across Europe through the EU Horizon Europe Female-Led Innovation in Agriculture and Rural Areas (FLIARA) project revealed a “staggering ethos” among them that aligned with farm sustainability, Farrell told the crowd gathered for a women in agriculture discussion panel in the European Commission on Tuesday.
“Not engaging with women in agriculture is to all of our detriment,” she cautioned.
Current policies to support women in agriculture must be reviewed and revamped if they are not working, she added, warning against adopting policies that amounted to “just a nod and wink to the women in farming” or “pinkwashing”.
University of Galway associate professor Dr Maura Farrell urged policymakers to evaluate and ensure current policies are working for women. \ Conor McCabe
“We want something that actually makes a difference. We have policies there at the moment.
“We must make sure that they’re working, evaluate them. If they’re not working, don’t put them there the next time around. Get us something different,” she urged Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and Peter Power, head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
On farm succession, the University of Galway associate professor pointed out that of the 13% of farm holders who are women in Ireland, some 42% are aged over 65.
“We find that the [farm succession] conversation is very much directed towards young males rather than young females,” she said.
“When we talk about succession and hurdles in the country, we need to stop just talking about young males. We need to start talking about females as well.”
Farrell called for quality training programmes for women in farming, access to finance for farm diversification, and support to address the fact that women are disproportionately responsible for care in many farm families, in addition to their farm work.
The call for access to finance was echoed by Teresa Roche, chair of the IFA’s farm family committee, and Kylemore Cheese producer.
She called for evidence-based policies to support women, and encouraged women in agriculture to stand up for each other and be role models for each other.
Roche, along with Cavan farmer Sophie Bell and Limerick farmer Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, is part of a trio of female farmers showcased in a new ‘Women Step Into Farming’ campaign by the European Commission Representation in Ireland to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
Quotable quotes
“The [European Commission’s Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture] underlines that we can no longer tolerate gender inequalities in agriculture and rural areas. The vision includes a commitment to establish a women in farming platform. It is up to you to make sure that we are under pressure in the commission, to make sure that that platform delivers. We’re in the market for ideas.”
– Peter Power, head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland
“The Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme under TAMS [with 60% grant aid] has seen significant uptake, with over 1,300 applications and close to 1,000 approvals issued to female farmers. The [EIP project] Making Farms for Women will receive €650,000 over a three-year period to pilot new on-farm methods to support greater gender balance in farming in Ireland.”
– Martin Heydon,
Minister for Agriculture
“We need to have [agriculture] education in [all] secondary schools to allow women to have access to that… We need to make agriculture attractive to the younger generation, and we need to reward progressive farming.”
– Roisin Cummins,
Kilkenny farmer
Women are Irish farming’s “secret weapon” when it comes to farm sustainability and farm succession, according to Dr Maura Farrell from University of Galway.
A survey of 200 women in Ireland and across Europe through the EU Horizon Europe Female-Led Innovation in Agriculture and Rural Areas (FLIARA) project revealed a “staggering ethos” among them that aligned with farm sustainability, Farrell told the crowd gathered for a women in agriculture discussion panel in the European Commission on Tuesday.
“Not engaging with women in agriculture is to all of our detriment,” she cautioned.
Current policies to support women in agriculture must be reviewed and revamped if they are not working, she added, warning against adopting policies that amounted to “just a nod and wink to the women in farming” or “pinkwashing”.
University of Galway associate professor Dr Maura Farrell urged policymakers to evaluate and ensure current policies are working for women. \ Conor McCabe
“We want something that actually makes a difference. We have policies there at the moment.
“We must make sure that they’re working, evaluate them. If they’re not working, don’t put them there the next time around. Get us something different,” she urged Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon and Peter Power, head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
On farm succession, the University of Galway associate professor pointed out that of the 13% of farm holders who are women in Ireland, some 42% are aged over 65.
“We find that the [farm succession] conversation is very much directed towards young males rather than young females,” she said.
“When we talk about succession and hurdles in the country, we need to stop just talking about young males. We need to start talking about females as well.”
Farrell called for quality training programmes for women in farming, access to finance for farm diversification, and support to address the fact that women are disproportionately responsible for care in many farm families, in addition to their farm work.
The call for access to finance was echoed by Teresa Roche, chair of the IFA’s farm family committee, and Kylemore Cheese producer.
She called for evidence-based policies to support women, and encouraged women in agriculture to stand up for each other and be role models for each other.
Roche, along with Cavan farmer Sophie Bell and Limerick farmer Hannah Quinn-Mulligan, is part of a trio of female farmers showcased in a new ‘Women Step Into Farming’ campaign by the European Commission Representation in Ireland to mark International Women’s Day 2025.
Quotable quotes
“The [European Commission’s Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture] underlines that we can no longer tolerate gender inequalities in agriculture and rural areas. The vision includes a commitment to establish a women in farming platform. It is up to you to make sure that we are under pressure in the commission, to make sure that that platform delivers. We’re in the market for ideas.”
– Peter Power, head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland
“The Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme under TAMS [with 60% grant aid] has seen significant uptake, with over 1,300 applications and close to 1,000 approvals issued to female farmers. The [EIP project] Making Farms for Women will receive €650,000 over a three-year period to pilot new on-farm methods to support greater gender balance in farming in Ireland.”
– Martin Heydon,
Minister for Agriculture
“We need to have [agriculture] education in [all] secondary schools to allow women to have access to that… We need to make agriculture attractive to the younger generation, and we need to reward progressive farming.”
A lack of access to land, succession issues and the challenge of combining farm work, off-farm work and caring responsibilities were among some of the barriers identified for women in agriculture.
Veronica White, who grew up in the Netherlands, came up with the novel way to investigate how women working on England’s farms imagine what the future of food production could look like.
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