Breaking barriers: How women are transforming agriculture and rural innovation

The European Union (EU) faces many challenges as it navigates a world of geopolitical turmoil and climate change. Rural areas are never divorced from
these issues, often meeting diverse and additional challenges of their own.
Confronting such challenges and in turn grasping new opportunities requires input and action from all inhabitants, including women. Historically, however, within the context of agriculture and rural innovation, men have dominated such domains, with the work of women often being minimised and considerably undervalued. This paper draws on the findings of the Horizon Europe, FLIARA(Female-Led Innovation in Agriculture and Rural Areas) project to identify the challenges and favourable conditions facing women as they circumnavigate and strengthen their place on the farm, in the broader agricultural industry and as rural innovators and entrepreneurs. The paper also puts forward a series of recommendations, which could support rural and farm women in their endeavours to add value to the family farm and enhance rural communities.