On December 4, 2024, the second conference of the Agro Woman Foundation, titled “Women in Agriculture,” was held in Warsaw. The event focused on supporting women from agricultural communities, emphasizing their roles as leaders and innovators in the agricultural sector. The conference was held under the honorary patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The conference was inaugurated by Karolina Tarnawska and Małgorzata Bojańczyk, founders of the European Foundation for Supporting the Development of Rural Women “Agro Woman.”
Just a year ago, during the first edition of our event, we did not anticipate such a positive response to the topic of women’s development in the agricultural sector. Nor did we expect our initiative and pilot mentoring program to achieve such spectacular success. It is your commitment and support that motivate us to continue building and expanding this platform.
– began Karolina Tarnawska, president of the “Agro Woman” Foundation.
Today’s event is particularly important in the context of Poland’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union. We want gender equality and the support of women in agriculture to become one of the priorities of the European agenda. Our conference focuses on promoting gender equality, one of the key values of the European Union, and on highlighting the role of women as leaders and innovators in modern and sustainable agriculture and the agri-food sector.
– said Małgorzata Bojańczyk, vice president of the “Agro Woman” Foundation.
During the first plenary session of the conference, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Undersecretary of State for EU Affairs at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, emphasized the importance of gender equality in public and industry discussions.
Currently, we can see that creating segments dedicated to the role of women has become very trendy at industry conferences, while men discuss geopolitics, economics, or business, leaving women to discuss their own issues. I believe women should not be confined to separate teams or subgroups dealing with women’s matters. True equality means that we should confidently take part in all kinds of panels. A good example of implementing this policy is the European Commission, which introduced the ‘No women, no panel’ principle, meaning the Commission does not endorse panels where women are not represented.
The next part of the event featured a presentation of key findings from the first study[1] in Poland on the living and social situation of women in agriculture. The study was conducted and financed by the Agro Woman Foundation, with the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences as the substantive partner. Thanks to a partnership with the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture, the study reached its target group—Polish female farmers. Conducting this research project marks a significant step towards identifying the specific needs of women in agriculture, enabling the creation of more precise policies and support programs aimed at this sector.
The study results were presented by Dr. Monika Stanny, Director of the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
First and foremost, it’s worth noting that our study on women in agriculture is the first of its scale on this topic in Poland. The fundamental question we wanted to address was: What are women in Polish agriculture like? This is important because there are very few studies devoted to female farmers, not only in Poland but also globally. More attention is given to rural women in general, but even that area is unfortunately neglected. In this context, we must remember that we cannot equate female farmers with rural women, as only about 20% of rural inhabitants in Poland are involved in agriculture, and only 9% of rural residents identify agriculture as their main source of income.
Female farmers in Poland make up approximately 30% of those working on farms and manage 38% of the country’s agricultural land, compared to the EU average of 25%. Looking at the total workload of women in agriculture, measured in Annual Work Units, it amounts to 39%. The aim of the Agro Woman and IRWIR PAN study was to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of the situation of Polish female farmers, focusing on three key aspects: professional, personal, and social.
Key Findings:
Professional situation:
The largest group among respondents comprises women combining work on the farm with other professional activities outside agriculture—36% of respondents can be described as having dual occupations.
Women working exclusively on the farm constitute 31%.
Women managing the household and assisting on the farm make up 28%.
The main reason for dual occupations, cited by 50% of respondents, is the need for an additional source of income. Meanwhile, 26% stated that their work outside the farm aligns with their education.
Among the surveyed group, 16% of women consider themselves the managers or heads of the farm.
Gender equality
58% of respondents feel that, as female farmers, they are treated equally to men by others, institutions, and organizations.
Those who feel treated less favorably highlight an unequal division of household responsibilities and perceive themselves as being less supported by the state, the EU, and other agricultural organizations.
Training and development:
37% of respondents participated in agricultural training in the past three years.
49% did not participate in training, while 14% could not recall.
Training related to farm management, such as integrated crop production courses and plant protection product application training, generated the most interest.
Among those who did not participate, 46% cited the lack of interesting or relevant training as the main reason. About 20% reported a lack of time, and 14% mentioned a lack of funds or the need to improve their skills.
The conference also served as a valuable platform for exchanging experiences, best practices, and inspiration at the EU level, emphasizing the role of women in ensuring food security and rural development across the EU.
The presentation of research results concluded with a debate featuring international partners of Agro Woman, including:
Jouke Knol, Agricultural Counsellor at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Warsaw for Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia
François Viel, Agricultural Counsellor, Embassy of France in Poland
Peggy Lantzsch, Counsellor for Food and Agriculture, Embassy of Germany in Poland
Challenges faced by farmers, both women and men, as well as the agribusiness sector across the EU and even more broadly in Europe, are similar. One of the biggest challenges is strengthening the role of the farmer, including female farmers, throughout the entire value chain. In the Netherlands, women in rural areas feel equal to men, and farm management is often based on a partnership model of cooperation. Typically, the division of roles resembles that in Poland—administrative, accounting, financial, or investment matters are often the responsibility of women, while farm work is predominantly performed by men.
– noted Jouke Knol from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Although women rate their living conditions as good or satisfactory, they worry about the future and sometimes have to take on additional work, even though their primary activity is working on the family farm. Another major challenge is succession in agriculture and the willingness of future generations to take over farms—this issue affects both women and men, likely throughout Europe. Therefore, promoting gender equality in agriculture at the EU level is a way to address this problem—why shouldn’t a daughter take over the family farm from her parents?
– emphasized Jouke Knol.
Women have always played, and continue to play, a very important role in the French agricultural sector. This includes both their work on farms and in agricultural enterprises. They are highly educated, open to innovation, organic production, and processing, but above all, they are deeply committed. Approximately 93% of women working in this sector consider agriculture their passion.
– said François Viel from the Embassy of France.
Moreover, gender equality has become a crucial element of general and agricultural education to encourage young women to engage in agriculture. This is yielding very positive results – 62% of students are girls, and 49% of those studying agricultural disciplines are women. In addition, France has already implemented many measures, which are now being evaluated for their effectiveness. Just last week, the think tank Agridée and the VoxDemeter association published a “Note on Women’s Entrepreneurship in Agriculture.” It includes 44 recommendations for unlocking the potential of women in agriculture, based on an analysis of obstacles and needs identified by rural women.
– summarized François Viel.
In Germany, between 2019 and 2022, we conducted a nationwide study on women, carried out by the University of Göttingen and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, with the support of women’s agricultural organizations. In total, almost 7,000 women participated in the study. The goal was to gather information on the living and professional situations of female farmers and to determine how societal transformation processes affect the situation of women in agriculture. A major surprise for us was that, unlike in the Netherlands, we have not yet achieved the level of gender equality in agriculture we aim for. In our country, only 11% of farms are managed by women, and the farm succession rate is just 18%, which places Germany among the lowest in the EU.
– pointed out Peggy Lantzsch from the Embassy of Germany in Poland.
Other challenges we face, in the context of the situation of women in German agriculture, include significant barriers for women related to traditional perceptions of social roles and outdated approaches to farm inheritance. These are important structural obstacles for female farmers in Germany, compounded by economic aspects such as the lack of financial resources for women to establish their own agricultural businesses.
– emphasized Peggy Lantzsch.
The purpose of the conference was to provide participants with practical knowledge and inspiration, as well as to highlight the role of public institutions in supporting women as leaders of change in agriculture. This included showcasing the situation in EU countries, with examples from Poland, France, the Netherlands, and Germany, and identifying best practices at the EU level.
The event focused on promoting gender equality, one of the EU’s key values, and highlighting the role of women as leaders and innovators in modern and sustainable agriculture and the agri-food sector. The meeting provided a unique opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities facing women in agriculture, as well as to collectively consider how we can support their development and strengthen their position in this crucial sector of the economy.
1. Citation Rules for the Study: Bojańczyk M., Kryńska K., Stanny M., Śpiewak R., 2024, Kobiety w rolnictwie. Pierwszy raport z badań, Warszawa: AGROWOMAN, Instytut Rozwoju Wsi i Rolnictwa PAN.
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