Women in Agriculture conference in Poland

The conference was opened by Magdalena Sobkowiak, Undersecretary of State, European Union Affairs Division of The Chancellery of the Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who stressed that equality between women and men and taking care of issues of equal opportunities, working conditions, wages, including in agriculture will be one of the important topics during the Polish Presidency of the EU, which begins early next year. The minister also declared that an informal working meeting will be held in Poznań in May 2025 as part of the Presidency precisely on equality, equal rights for women and men, including in agriculture and the countryside.

The survey

Then, during the conference, the results of the first survey in Poland on the life and social situation of women in agriculture - conducted by the Foundation, in cooperation with the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture - were presented. It is part of a broader survey that is being carried out in Poland, but also in the Netherlands, France and Germany (a team from the NL Embassy in Warsaw is responsible for the part of the survey on the living and social situation of women in agriculture in the Netherlands). The study is an important step towards identifying the specific needs of women in agriculture, which will allow more precise shaping of policies and support programs aimed at this sector.

The event featured a panel discussion during which similarities and differences in the situation of women in agriculture were shared by Agricultural Counselors from the Netherlands, France and Germany. Agricultural Counsellor of the Netherlands Embassy in Warsaw, Jouke Knol stressed that the policy of supporting women and equal opportunities has been one of the state's priorities for many years. All panelists said that although the situation of women in agriculture compared to other EU countries is good, there is still a lot of work to be done, first of all, it is worth thinking about improving the position of the farmer in the entire food chain, as well as encouraging young female farmers and young farmers to want to stay in the countryside and take care of improving the attractiveness of the farming profession in Europe, or more broadly in the world because without farmers it is difficult to talk about food. Without food, there is no future.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture shared the observation that a woman in the countryside is present everywhere - on the farm, at home and in the life of the rural community.

Minister Siekierski said:

- At the same time, this places a heavy burden on woman. In the sphere of professional support for women in agriculture, we still have much to do. [...] Changes in agriculture and the development of technology have meant that women's professional opportunities on farms are now much broader than they used to be. Jobs that were previously the domain of men, due to the physical burden, have become available to rural women. One of the many options, for example, is food processing.

The event ended with Minister Czesław Siekierski presenting diplomas to the participants of the first edition of the mentoring program organized by the AgroWoman Foundation. The aim of the AgroWoman Mentoring 2024 program is to support the professional development of women in the agro-food sector. The program's pilot project involved 16 women, one from each province.