International Year of the Woman Farmer: Motion
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-20
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Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel

I thank Senator Boyhan and his group for bringing this motion forward. One of the first conversations I ever had with him after I got elected to this House was around the year of the woman farmer, when he told me all about how this was coming in. Since then, he has been providing me with information that I might be interested in. He is an amazing advocate for women in farming, and I have to give him that today.
This is an opportunity not simply to celebrate women in agriculture but to finally confront the structural inequalities that have existed within farming for generations. Women have always been at the heart of rural Ireland. They have worked on farms, managed accounts, cared for livestock, raised families, driven diversity, supported local communities and sustained rural life without any recognition sometimes and without ownership or equal decision-making power.
Despite their enormous contribution, as has been said a few times across the floor, only 13% of farms are owned by women. This statistic alone tells us that while women have always been central to farming, they have not always been treated as equal participants in the sector. Globally, women make up 41% of the agrifood workforce. The evidence is overwhelming that when women are empowered in agriculture, communities benefit, household incomes improve, food security strengthens and rural communities become more resilient, so this is not simply an equality issue. It is an economic issue, a rural development issue and a food security issue.
I particularly welcome the recognition in the motion of barriers around landownership, succession, taxation and access to finance. For many women, particularly in rural Ireland, farming has traditionally been something they contribute to rather than something that they are formally recognised within. Too often, women work full time on farms while their names are absent from land titles, herd numbers - I am one of them because my name is not on our herd number - partnerships, decision-making structures and succession plans. This has real consequences, not only economically but socially and emotionally too within the house.
We need to ask ourselves why it is still considered unusual in some areas for a daughter to inherit the family farm or for a wife or partner to be made equal legal participants in the family farm business. If we are serious about encouraging women into agriculture, then we must address the practical barriers that continue to exist. This includes examining taxation structures that may unintentionally discourage joint ownership or succession for women. It means improving access to education, advisory services, grant schemes and leadership opportunities. It means ensuring that women farmers are visible in our agricultural colleges, co-ops, farm organisations and policymaking bodies. Importantly, it means changing cultural attitudes, which I know can be very difficult, that still persist in certain parts of the sector.
There is enormous value in the proposal for an education programme promoting women in agriculture. Young girls growing up in rural Ireland should see farming as a career path for themselves, not as something secondary or supportive but something they can actually lead. This is because the future of Irish agriculture depends on attracting our next generation into farming and we cannot afford to leave half of our population behind.
I also acknowledge the work already undertaken through the women in agriculture action plan and a commitment in the programme for Government to support female succession and gender equality in farming. We now need delivery on this. The International Year of the Woman Farmer cannot simply be a symbolic exercise or a series of events and photographs. It needs to become a turning point, one where women in agriculture receive not just praise for their contribution but equal access to opportunity, ownership, recognition and leadership. Rural Ireland is changing and that change must include greater equality within farming itself. By supporting women farmers, we strengthen families, food systems and rural communities.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-20