Federal Women Farmers’ Day 2024 highlighting the diverse roles of women on and off the farm
Villach (OTS) – Farm manager, networker, entrepreneur and, and, and. The lives of women on local farms have changed significantly in the past decades. They have often become the driving force behind innovations in companies and set socio-political milestones. “Being a farmer – more versatile than ever” is the motto of this year’s Federal Women Farmers’ Day in Villach, which deals with the challenges of the new role models.
Today, more and more women farmers are going their own way with self-confidence, building up business bases on their own responsibility, opening up new income opportunities for their farm and skilfully using the keyboard of social media for dialogue with society. 35% of farms (Green Report 2023) are now run by women. 30,000 direct marketing, around 7,400 holiday farm businesses across Austria, around 850 agricultural education providers with farm schools and seminar farmers as well as more than 100 green care businesses show the entrepreneurial potential, especially of women farmers. “They use these skills not only for the company, but also increasingly for rural areas,” says the federal farmer Irene Neumann-Hartberger to the numerous different roles in which women farmers express themselves today due to their very good technical skills and individual, often non-agricultural training.
With this positive development, there are also major hurdles to overcome. In addition to social demands on agriculture, climate change and ever-increasing bureaucracy represent the greatest challenge. “Further training and diversification are important cornerstones of operational security. The funds must continue to be available for this. As well as for agricultural educational measures – an important future chapter for agriculture. With their work in schools and in dialogue with consumers, the farmers and seminar farmers make a significant contribution to raising awareness of the quality of Austrian food,” says Neumann-Hartberger.
Another key point is the social and legal protection of farmers and women in general. “It takes knowledge about the consequences of part-time work for pensions or of personal decisions in legal terms such as inheritance law. It is the responsibility of women to find out about it, but awareness must also be created among men,” said the federal farmer. The advocacy group will therefore use online formats (October 2024 Women Farmers in Talks on “Finances”) and workshops to increase awareness of this essential topic among its members and encourage women farmers to stand up for their security. “Our goal is to strengthen the opportunities of women on farms, to encourage and enable them to shape their lives according to their ideas,” says Neumann-Hartberger.
Totschnig: Women farmers are a driving force
“Today, being a farmer is more diverse than ever. It is therefore an absolute necessity to promote and encourage women at court. Because our farmers play the most important role in agriculture and forestry. Our goal is to further strengthen them and make the modern, diverse role of the farmer’s wife visible. This is exactly where VISION 2028+ comes in: As part of this strategy process, the concerns of women and youth are the focus,” said the Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig.
The results of the first phase of VISION 2028+ already reinforce that women are a driving force in agriculture and forestry, says Totschnig: “Our women farmers not only make plants grow, but also cultivate the future of agriculture. They are the ones who promote innovative business sectors such as direct marketing or holidays on the farm, who focus on training and further education, who promote climate protection and who think across generations. It is up to all of us to continually support women. The ARGE farmers’ women are indispensable partners in inspiring the next generations and in solving the challenges ahead.”
Moosbrugger: Optimal framework conditions for our “bridge farmers”
“The diverse talents and achievements of our women farmers are a tremendous enrichment for the whole of Austria and deserve our greatest appreciation. At the same time, I would like to call on all women farmers to take advantage of the variety of our educational and advisory services in order to gain new impulses for the future. This is how they can For example, innovation ideas can be checked for their feasibility or entrepreneurial skills can be expanded. With ‘ZAMm on the go’, every farmer can raise her own knowledge and demeanor to a new level,” emphasizes LK Austria President Josef Moosbrugger.
“Our women farmers are extremely valuable ‘bridge farmers’ to society as a whole. I would very much like to see more of them get involved in agricultural policy and anchor agricultural and forestry concerns at central points. We will definitely work hard to ensure that “We continue to provide appropriate support for these educational and advisory services as well as the best possible framework conditions for our farmers and their families. Their agricultural educational measures in kindergartens and schools are also enormously valuable and should be further supported and expanded,” emphasizes Moosbrugger. (Ending)
Questions & Contact:
Mag. Martina Wolf, LK Austria, press officer for the ARGE Austrian Farmers’ Women, Mobile: 0676 83441 8778, Email: m.wolf@lk-oe.at
Dipl.-Ing. Michaela Glatzl, MA, Managing Director of the ARGE Austrian Farmers’ Women in the LK Austria, Tel. (01) 53 441 – 8517; Mobile: 0676 83441 8517, email: m.glatzl@lk-oe.at, Homepage: www.baeuerinnen.at