Acknowledging women in agriculture: taskforce progress report

Foreword by Co-Chairs of the Women in Agriculture Taskforce

In compiling the Taskforce membership, we wanted to identify individuals who are both influential within their own organisations and able to deliver industry-wide change, driven by a commitment to what they do, and recognition of the value it brings to the lives of families and communities across Scotland. We think we have found a group who own those qualities and a group who, most importantly, can operate as a single voice in representing the industries which make up Scotland’s farming and agriculture sector.

We would like to take this opportunity to offer sincere gratitude to the time given to this important work by each and every member of the Taskforce.

The important thing in all of this is that we reach out to grassroots level. We need to change inherent cultures enshrined in farming tradition. There is no doubt there are some traditions which make Scottish farming the success story it is today, but there are those which are suppressing growth in the sector and we need to liberate those ties.

The authors of Women in Farming and Agriculture Sector have tremendous insight and sector vision and have produced the baseline evidence needed in examining women’s contribution to Scotland’s farming and agriculture sector. The information we now have lets the sector better understand itself and it offers the Taskforce a strong foundation on which to build policy making decisions and further recommendations.

We will continue to drive forward and work with the Taskforce towards better acknowledgement of the role and contribution of women in Scotland’s agriculture sector and towards realising equal opportunity for all in a progressive Scottish farming culture.

Fergus Ewing
Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity

Joyce Campbell
Hill Farmer