Michael Moynihan
Ceist:496. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current funding provided for the Women in Agriculture Action Plan. [41064/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 15 October 2024
Ceisteanna (496)
Freagraí scríofa
Gender equality in agriculture is a key priority of mine. It is also a core principle of the European Union. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) Regulations place particular focus on promoting women’s participation in the development of rural areas, with special attention to farming. Good progress has been made in this area, and under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) I am actively promoting gender equality, through several new initiatives, such as:
• An increased grant rate of 60% under the Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme to fund on-farm investments by trained women farmers.An increased grant rate of 60% under the Women Farmer Capital Investment Scheme to fund on-farm investments by trained women farmers.
• The inclusion of an option to establish women-only groups in the current Knowledge Transfer Programme.
• Improved recording and reporting of gender data and the leveraging of the National CAP Network to increase the involvement of all women in the implementation of CAP.
• A European Innovation Partnership open call in April 2024 for proposals on “innovative approaches to support greater gender balance in farming in Ireland”.
Additionally, I support rural female entrepreneurs by funding the ACORNS programme providing tailored support to early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland. Up to 50 new female entrepreneurs can participate in ACORNS annually and I launched the current ACORNS 10 programme in August.
Food Vision 2030, Ireland’s stakeholder-led strategy for the agrifood sector has environmental, economic and social sustainability at its core. Food Vision aims for Ireland to be “A World Leader in Sustainable Food Systems”. Food Vision was designed using a food systems approach, and recognises the importance of gender balance to the long-term sustainable future for primary producers. Food Vision includes actions to promote and improve gender balance at all levels within the sector, and included a commitment to host a National Dialogue on Women in Agriculture.
The Dialogue was held in February 2023 and explored gender equality in farming and the agrifood sector generally. The outcomes and recommendations were compiled into a report and action plan, which were published earlier this year. A working group has been established to oversee implementation of the action plan.
Many of the actions will not require direct funding as they will be carried out with existing resources within my Department, for example an internal review of DAFM scheme eligibility and educational requirements to ensure maximum opportunities are available to women farmers; and a dedicated “Women in Agriculture” space on the DAFM website. Others, such as funding for webinars & local events and a dedicated women in agriculture award will come from the overall Food Vision administrative budget, as required. Other actions such as the specific research on women in agriculture will be funded from the Research budget within my Department.
I will continue to liaise with the relevant stakeholders to promote and support gender balance in agriculture and will ensure funding for the Women in Agriculture Action Plan, where required.