Women do 13% of work, expected to inherit 20% of Irish farms
It indicates that, on average, women contribute 13% to total labour input in farming, well ahead of the 10% of farms which are owned by women in their own name.
Women do 5% of the work on tillage farms, and are indispensable in the most profitable sector of Irish agriculture, dairy farming, where they do 14% of the work, according to the Survey.
Their input is set to rise, according to other research done by Teagasc.
Dr Terry Cunningham has been looking into the huge changes in succession in Irish farming, hit by an exodus which has seen many sons turn their backs on the family farm. But it is the trend to smaller and single sex families that will see more and more Irish farms inherited by women, predicts Dr Cunningham. He suggests that one fifth of all farms here will be inherited by daughters in the future.
Earlier this year, IFA equality officer Mary Carroll warned the Oireachtas Joint Committee On Agriculture And Food that future women farm owners could turn their backs on the industry unless a proactive programme is now instituted at all levels to ensure women are given a real choice to become farmers.
“Women are told they play an important role and are the backbone of rural development, but much of their work is invisible and is not counted”, she said.
It is estimated by IFA that 25% of full-time workers on Irish farms are women.
Ten years ago, the figure was 40%; the decline is largely attributed to women taking off-farm jobs, which often support the farm enterprise economically.
Compared with the rest of Europe, Irish women represent a smaller proportion of farm labour but a significantly higher proportion of full-time workers.
