First study into role of women on farms
There is a global perception about farming that where there is a farm, there is a farmer and that farmer is a man. However, in the European context this is not the case. Instead, most farming is done within the context of family farms. Women make up 37% of the total workforce on European farms and account for 30% on Irish farms. Many women - in Europe, in Ireland, in Wicklow - living on farms work full or part-time in the farm business, in addition many hold down jobs off farm also. The reality is that up until now we did not have a lot of information about the role of women in agriculture in our county, or indeed at national level.
Therefore Wicklow Rural Partnership, in conjunction with the IFA Farm Families Committee, Teagasc, Macra na Feirme and the County Development Board, is delighted to be launching the first ever countywide study into the multiple roles undertaken by women on Wicklow farms.
This unique piece of research was in response to recent government reports and to recommendations contained in Outlook, the strategic plan of Wicklow County Development Board. More importantly it was in response to a direct request from the women of Wicklow themselves. Following the IFA Equality for Women conference held in Croke Park in September 2003, Wicklow Rural Partnership consulted with a group of farm women from the county. Those women felt that a survey should be conducted which would reach as many women on farms in Wicklow as possible.
According to Siobhán Geoghegan, Development Officer with LEADER, this report represents an important step in firstly filling the information gap that exists about farm women in the county.
For further information contact: Siobhán Geoghegan, Rural Partnership, Saville Cross, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, Tel: 0404-46977, or sgeoghegan@ wicklowleader.ie
