Women in agriculture business skills training - focus groups: final report

1. Executive Summary

1.1 Introduction

This research was carried out to inform the development of two new business skills courses for women living and working in Scottish agriculture. This follows a recommendation made by the Women in Agriculture Taskforce in their Final Report.^[2] The two planned courses are titled 'Knowing Your Finances' and 'Knowing Your Business' (see Annex A and B) and will be delivered as part of the Women in Agriculture (WIA) Development Programme.

In their Final Report, the WIA Taskforce recommended increasing opportunities for women in agriculture, including training to improve their confidence and abilities in finance and business skills. Previous research commissioned by Scottish Government identified that whilst women are heavily involved with farm finances and accounts, they often feel they have a lack of knowledge and skills in this area (2017).^[3] There is currently no training available which focuses on agricultural business skills and is targeted solely at women.

1.2 Research method

In March and May 2022 four online focus groups were held with a total of 20 participants. Those taking part were asked to share their feedback on the course design and their views on their training needs in relation to their own finance skills and experiences. Focus group participants were recruited through the Women in Agriculture network and Facebook groups, crofting organisations and the Lantra Scotland newsletter.

The groups were held online using Microsoft Teams and lasted 2 hours. Participants were provided with two short course outlines to read before the session (Annex A and B), and an information sheet, consent form and privacy notice (Annex C). The focus groups were audio recorded and notes were taken with participants' consent. The recordings were then transcribed and coded using a thematic analysis approach. This report outlines the main research findings and follows the structure of the focus group topic guide (Annex E).

1.3 Participants

Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire before the focus group (Annex D). 16 out of 20 completed it in full. A summary of their responses is included in Section 3.

The groups involved participants of different ages (from 26-30 to 60 and over) and from a range of locations, including: Aberdeenshire, Fife, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, South Lanarkshire, and the Highlands and Islands. Four participants live on Scottish Islands.

The majority (76%) of participants live or work on a farm. Around a quarter (24%) live or work on a croft and over a tenth (12%) work for an agricultural business. Their businesses range by size and type, from small crofts to family farms and larger businesses which employ several members of staff.

Participants work different amounts of hours a week on their croft or farm. A quarter (25%) work 6 to 10 hours a week and just under a fifth (19%) work 10 to 15 hours. Over a third (39%) work 21 hours a week or more. The majority (80%) consider themselves to work part-time. They carry out a range of financial and administrative tasks.

Further information is provided in Section 4.1.