An Irish MEP has called for gender equality for women farmers to be made a core goal of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Maria Walsh, a member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, recently made a number of proposals on this topic The next Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2028-2034.
She said her proposals “put gender equality at the heart of the new Common Agricultural Policy, while also prioritizing farmers’ mental health and financing rural development.”
It also strengthened its call for 10% protected financing for young farmers and secure retirement plans for those at the end of their careers.
“Equality for women under the next CAP cannot be an afterthought, but must be front and center in the current negotiations,” Walsh commented.
“Improving women’s participation in agriculture and the broader rural economy should be a specific goal of the new CAP, as I called for in my proposals,” she added.
She called on each EU national government to assess the situation of women in agriculture and address the specific challenges they face on the ground.
“I have called for the inclusion of practical support for women farmers to help address challenges, such as advice on business management, access to land and finance, participation in innovation and knowledge networks, succession planning and equal access to public support,” the Fine Gael MEP said.
“Creating a true gender equality action plan also requires providing leave time, especially maternity leave.
“One of my key proposals calls for all governments to provide support for agricultural relief services, allowing farmers to take leave for illness, mental health, childbearing, maternity and paternity leave, care responsibilities for children and other family members, holidays, and other important life events,” Walsh added.
She also said that protecting rural communities was a key part of her proposals in the CAP, drawing particular attention to the LEADER rural development programme.
“LEADER programs are a lifeline across rural Ireland, yet their funding is currently at risk.
“As part of my amendments to the new CAP, I called for LEADER funding to be mandatory in all EU countries, with a financial minimum of at least 5% of the total CAP budget allocated to rural development,” she said.
Walsh said negotiations on the new Common Agricultural Policy would now continue, and stressed that the final outcome would determine “the future of Irish agriculture and our rural communities in the next decade”.
