Marking International Women’s Day 2024, Teresa Roche of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) said that she wants to acknowledge the important contribution of women in agriculture.

Roche said that despite the important role they play, women farmers' contribution has traditionally been understated, while also recognising their contribution both on the farm and also in their communities.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

She highlighted the importance of supporting and empowering women to get involved in the sector.

She said that “rural women are an under-utilised resource and we need to introduce additional supports to encourage more women farmers to get involved”.

Cultural barriers

She concluded that there are a number of social and cultural barriers to women’s participation in agriculture that need to be addressed in order to effect change.

“We need to increase women’s visibility within the sector, to show younger women that there is a career for them in farming.”