FEMAGREE

Description

• Programme: Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Individual Fellowship, Society and Enterprise Panel
• Period: 05/2018 - 04/2019
• Funding amount: €85,730 for Bavaria
• Coordinator: Dr Stefanie Duesberg, Bavarian State Ministry for Nutrition, Agriculture and Forestry
• Project number: 798421

Gender equality is one of five fundamental policy objectives in the European Union. The achievement of this objective is more advanced in some policy areas than in others. In agriculture, for example, where farms are typically family businesses, women are still underrepresented as farm holders in many member states. In Bavaria, for example, only 15% of farms are owned by women. Furthermore, although women married to farmers work at least as many hours as their husbands, they tend to have less financial security and lack decision-making power. Women who set up their own business in or around a farm are facing barriers and difficulties such as access to financial support and combining family responsibilities with work. The FEMAGREE project aims to identify the obstacles farm women are facing when establishing or growing a business, which existing support measures are useful in addressing these obstacles and how support for these women can be improved. For this purpose, a researcher team under the coordination of the Bavarian State Ministry of Agriculture, is conducting in-depth interviews with female agricultural entrepreneurs in Eastern Bavaria and the West of Ireland. The two study regions have similar agricultural structures, but differ in their funding approaches. The aim of FEMAGREE is to develop recommendations for suitable support instruments.