Keynote speech delivered by Mr Janusz Wojciechowski at Copa Cogeca Innovation Award for Women Farmers, Brussels.

Innovation Award for Women Farmers

Ladies and gentlemen,

Distinguished guests,

And, most importantly - our five finalists, who have travelled from across Europe to be here, at the Innovation Award for Women Farmers!

It is my great pleasure to join you here today.

Today provides us with an excellent opportunity:

• to celebrate the achievements of our female farmers and foresters,
• and to acknowledge the place of women ‘at the forefront of Sustainable Rural Areas'.

Before I begin, I would like to share my warm thanks with COPA-COGECA, for the organisation of this award.

I would also like to thank:

• the European Economic and Social Committee, for hosting us today,
• and Mr Biedron, for representing the European Parliament.

It is great to see such strong, pan-European support for the female members of our farming community here today.

CAP contribution

This support is fully reinforced by the European Commission.

For the first time in the history of the Common Agricultural Policy, we have clearly mentioned women as part of our specific policy objectives.

We have included explicit references to enhancing the position of women in farming, and to improving the situation of women in rural areas.

In their CAP Strategic Plans, Member States were required to demonstrate clear commitments and actions towards these objectives.

As a result, we have seen Member States introduce a variety of tailor-made interventions, designed to support women in their respective farming sectors and rural communities.

I would like to take a few moments to outline how, and why, we are providing this support.

Fairness in our food system

First of all, by supporting women farmers, we strengthen the fairness of our food system and our rural communities.

Anybody who has experience of life on a farm knows that women are often heavily involved in agricultural work.

However, we also know that many are typically engaged under informal employment.

As a result:

• they do not receive a separate income from their husband (or their male relative, as the case may be)
• they are not entitled to social security in their own right
• and they often do not hold property rights.

Furthermore, women who want to become full-time farmers face greater barriers when it comes to accessing land, finance, and employment.

As a matter of fairness, these issues must be addressed, and these barriers must be broken down.

That is exactly what we are doing through the Common Agricultural Policy.

For example, in the CAP Strategic Plan of Ireland, we see a higher level of support under the capital investment scheme for women farmers.

We are also supporting fairness in the wider rural community.

Compared to their male counterparts, and compared to women living in cities, rural women face lower employment rates and lower incomes, with higher risks of poverty and social exclusion.

To help address these issues, the ‘Long-term Vision for Rural Areas' includes a flagship initiative on ‘Social resilience and Women in rural areas'.

This initiative aims to

• support women in entrepreneurship,
• encourage their participation in decision-making roles,
• and to direct investments towards work-life balance services, such as early childhood education and care, as well as services for older people.

I believe that, through actions like these, we can continue to break down barriers, and build progress in the years ahead.

Future of farming & rural areas

This brings me to my second point: we support women in agriculture, because by doing so, we benefit the future of our farming and rural communities.

The challenges facing these communities are clear to see.

Across Europe, the number of farms are decreasing: between 2010 and 2020, we lost 3 million farms, falling from 12 to 9 million. That is 800 farms lost every day.

Meanwhile, the average age of a farmer in the European Union has increased: more than a third of European farmers are over 65 years old, while less than 5% are below 35 years.

To reverse this situation, we need to support young farmers in general, and this is a key objective of our Common Agricultural Policy.

But more than that, we need to open the doors of agriculture to everyone, including those who may have been overlooked in the past, such as people from non-farming backgrounds, and of course, women.

Simply put, anyone with the skill, interest, and dedication to become a farmer should be supported and encouraged, regardless of their background or gender.

As well as raising the profile of farming amongst women and girls through promotion and education, we can create incentives for women to enter farming and forestry businesses.

Once again, the CAP has an important role to play.

Under the Spanish CAP Strategic Plan, for example, women can benefit from a higher young farmer payment, to encourage their greater involvement in agriculture.

Initiatives like these will enable young women with an interest in farming to take the first steps in their career.

By encouraging these careers, we can make our base of farmers more diverse, and make the future of farming stronger.

Food security & sustainability

But of course, we not only need women farmers for our future, but also in our present.

And this brings me to my final point.

Ladies and gentlemen, we support women farmers because, quite simply, we need them.

Every day, they make essential contributions to our food security.

Here, let me turn to the example of this year's finalists.

Our finalists show that women farmers play a crucial and active role across Europe: from here in Belgium, and down to Italy; from the Atlantic coast of Portugal, to my home country of Poland.

I would like to thank each of you specifically, but also women farmers more generally: for the work you do every day; and for the contribution you make to our food security.

I would also like to congratulate you on your achievements: for driving progress in our food systems; for taking actions to make your farms more modern, productive, resilient, and sustainable.

From your stories, I see pioneering work across a number of areas, including:

• animal welfare, and organics
• the use of innovation, and new technologies
• and the development of short supply chains, and circular farming systems

Through these actions, you are reinforcing the resilience and sustainability of our food systems.

You are also setting strong examples, and providing True inspiration; not only to other women and girls, but for every farmer.

Concluding remarks

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our finalists this year provide clear proof that, when it comes to farming, women cannot only succeed, but they can lead.

Indeed, if we look to the past, we can see that women have always been at the centre of rural life:

• contributing essential work,
• maintaining communities,
• and sustaining traditions.

So, as we look to the future, we can see women at the centre:

• to create stronger rural communities,
• and to drive more productive, resilient, and sustainable farming.

On that note, I thank you for your time, and I look forward to our ceremony.

Thank you.