On June 18, 2024, at the invitation of the French Embassy in Poland, a partner of the international collaboration initiative Agro Woman, we participated in the conference “AGRO Women – Entrepreneurs, Innovation Leaders.”
The conference focused on the situation of women in the agricultural sector in France and Poland, particularly on the implementation of systemic equality policies, the promotion of agricultural professions among women, education and the school system, and initiatives supporting women in rural areas. The event was opened by Etienne de Poncins, the French Ambassador to Poland, who welcomed the guests alongside Adam Nowak, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Today’s event brings together two priorities that guide our embassy – promoting women and their rights, and cooperation in the agricultural sector. Feminist diplomacy is one of the priorities of both our embassy and France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. We pursue feminist diplomacy through the commitment of the women who work in our embassy. Feminist diplomacy involves internal activities as well as partnerships that bind us together. Agricultural cooperation between France and Poland fits into the development of our economic relations, which are particularly dynamic in the agri-food sector. In 2023, our trade exchange reached €4.4 billion.
– said Etienne de Poncins, French Ambassador to Poland.
France’s commitment to gender equality is evident in its legislative activity. Between 2019 and 2023, the French parliament passed five laws aimed at improving the situation of women. Our key priorities include: women’s health, professional and economic equality, particularly concerning the role of women, strengthening women in public roles and business, such as equal pay for equal work, and promoting a culture of equality, including combating prejudice and stereotypes, especially in sectors where women are underrepresented. We believe that feminist diplomacy can only be realized if we first set an example of actions that can be taken to promote gender equality before sharing our experiences with other countries.
– pointed out Lucie Stepanyan, First Counselor at the French Embassy in Poland.
SOURCE: FRENCH EMBASSY IN POLAND
One of the elements of the conference included discussion panels dedicated to initiatives and programs for female farmers, entrepreneurs, and innovators, with the goal of exchanging experiences among the conference participants.
The role of the Agro Woman initiative is to support rural communities by developing competencies and fostering women’s entrepreneurship. We are currently implementing a pilot mentoring program involving 16 women, with mentors from the largest agri-food companies in Poland. This is important because we must remember that women running farms are, above all, managers, and it is crucial that they receive support from the business sector. Our goal is for these key business competencies to be passed on to rural areas and stay there, to make agricultural work more attractive and encourage young people to stay in the countryside and pursue their careers there.
– said Małgorzata Bojańczyk from the Agro Woman initiative.
Participants in the debate on actions and programs for agro women included:
- Pauline Goubault, Program Manager of the FarmHER Program
- Laurence Cormier, Vice President of the Les Elles de la Terre Association, Farmer
- Małgorzata Bojańczyk, Agro Woman initiative, Director of the Polish Sustainable Agriculture and Food Association
- Maria Sikorska, President of the Innovation Leaders Association
- Małgorzata Druciarek, EIT Food Program
Participants in the debate “Female Farmers, Entrepreneurs, and Innovators – Sharing Experiences” included:
- Katarzyna Bocheńska-Walentyńska, finalist of the “EWA” program, founder of the Regenario Startup
- Astrid Spriet, Director of the HECTAR pilot farm
- Anna and Łukasz Haase, an agro family
- Dr. Agnieszka Orzeł, innovator, creator of Polish varieties of raspberries and blackberries
- Beata and Ryszard Krychowiak, an agro family
Both debates were moderated by Bożena Bochenek, Agricultural Attaché at the French Embassy.
Agro Woman is an initiative focused on creating a platform for women to share their experiences and stories and provide space for discussions on the role of sustainability in agriculture, innovation, management, and future challenges. Its goal is to make the role of women in agriculture more attractive and to support them through substantive education. The initiative’s patrons include the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Warsaw and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Warsaw. The substantive patron is the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences.