Women in Farming: Leadership, Equality and Resilience in Europe’s Agri‑Food Systems

Event Description

Women are at the heart of Europe’s farms and rural communities, yet they remain under-represented where decisions are taken. Women manage around 31% of EU farms, a share that falls to 13% in Ireland and 9% in Bavaria, and only 3% of farms are run by women under 40. Farms managed by women are on average less than half the size of those managed by men (9 hectares against 21), and only 19% of women farmers have received agricultural training. 

These gaps are global, and they are the reason the United Nations declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, with FAO as lead agency. The Year aims to raise awareness of the role women play in agrifood systems and to remove the barriers they face in land tenure, finance, training and access to services. Women make up 40% of the global agrifood workforce, yet earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by men; closing these gaps could add around USD 1 trillion to global GDP and lift 45 million people out of food insecurity. 

Europe has started to respond: in March 2026 the European Commission launched its Women in Farming Platform, which already brings together members from 25 Member States. Yet only two of the 27 Member States, Ireland and Spain, have put in place dedicated measures to support women farmers. Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan includes a Women Farmers Capital Investment Scheme offering women an increased 60% grant rate for on-farm investment, alongside a National Women in Agriculture Action Plan. Spain provides higher CAP top-ups for young women setting up a farm and, through its law on shared ownership of farms, allows women to be recognised as co-owners of the family holding, with equal rights to its income and support. 

Organised with the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and co-hosted by MEPs Barry Cowen and Christine Singer, this European Food Forum event brings together EU institutions, Member States, FAO, women farmers, researchers, farming organisations and the food industry. After a high-level political keynote, a first panel will move from barriers to solutions, covering land and succession, finance, training and advisory services, representation in farming organisations, and the results of Horizon Europe research. A second panel will present best practices from Ireland, Spain and beyond.  

The discussion will ask how the visibility of 2026 can be turned into measurable progress by 2030, what other Member States can learn from Ireland and Spain, how the next CAP and financial institutions can better support women farmers, and what would encourage more young women to see a future in farming. 

Our hope is that this first edition becomes an annual event, widened to all women in food: those working along the entire food chain and those working in research. 

Draft Agenda

16:00 – 16:40 High‑Level Political Keynote - Women Farmers at the Heart of Europe’s Food Systems

• MEP Barry COWEN, Co-Host of the Event 

• MEP Christine SINGER, Co-Host of the Event 

• MEP Jessika VAN LEEUWEN, Co-Host of the Event 

• Martin HEYDON, Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (alternatively Sinéad McPHILLIPS, Secretary General of the Department) (TBC) 

• Michael MCGRATH, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection (TBC)

• Christophe HANSEN, Commissioner for Agriculture and Food (TBC) 

• Hadja LAHBIB, Commissioner for Equality (TBC) 

16:40 – 17:25 Panel I: From Barriers to Solutions - Where Women Farmers Stand Today and How Policy, Research and Innovation Can Unlock Their Potential 

• Magdalena BAUMGARTNER, Organic Dairy Farmer and Member of the Rosenheim District Board, Bavarian Farmers’ Association (BBV), Germany 

• Carina ROSEINGRAVE, farmer from County Clare and Ireland’s Ambassador for the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026

• Francesca GIRONI, Chair of the Copa‑Cogeca Women’s Committee (TBC) 

• Mariola ACOSTA FRANCES, FAO Strategic Coordinator of the International Year 

• Prof. Maura FARREL, University of Galway, FLIARA project  

• Blanca CASARES GUILLÉN, AEIDL, GRASS CEILING policy expert  

  
  

17:25 – 18:05 Panel II - Best Practices and Future Perspectives - Learning from Ireland, Spain and Beyond 

• Name TBA, Presentation of Irish and Spanish best practices supporting women in agriculture (competent ministries) (TBC) 

• Hannah QUINN‑MULLIGAN, Women in Agriculture Stakeholders Group (Ireland) (TBC) 

• Katharina SCHOBERSBERGER, CEJA, young woman farmer (TBC) 

• Lisa SCHNEIDER, President of Swedish Organic Farmers association, IFOAM member 

• Ewa KARÓLEWSKA, EIT Food “Empowering Women in Agrifood” programme 

• Francesca NONINO,  Responsible communication NONINO DISTILLATORI, influencer of Grappa (TBC) 

18:05 – 18:20 Interactive Exchange with MEP Barry COWEN, MEP Christine Singer, Panelists and participants Open Discussion and Q&A 

18:20 – 18:30 Closing Remarks by MEPs Barry COWEN, Christine SINGER and Jessika VAN LEEUWEN 

Launch of the annual EFF Women in Food series and announcement of the 2027 edition. 

18:30 – 19:30 Networking Cocktail