Strategy for Equality in the Agriculture Sector

Summary

Female representation in the Norwegian agriculture sector has increased since 1970 and has remained stabile in recent years. The share of female farmers increased from 7,3 percent in 1979 to 13,1 percent in 2001 and has been stabile the last five years. About 13 percent of the 55 000 Norwegian farmers are female and approximately 25 percent of all farms are owned by females. Women performed about a quarter of the total number of man years in the sector. Overall, only a third of the total 190 000 farms in Norway are being run as active farms.

Representatives from the agricultural sector and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food have jointly developed a strategy to increase the female participation in the agriculture sector. The aim is to reach a female participation of 40 percent in agriculture and related businesses.

The measures listed in the strategy involve several actors in the sector, ranging from authority bodies to the single farmer and the farmers unions.

Key areas of this strategy are as follows:
1. Increase the number of female land owners and increase the number of establishments
2. Increase the number of female participants in agriculture and in related businesses
3. Strengthen female influence and power in the agricultural sector

1. Increase the Number of Female Land Owners and Increase the Number of Establishments
1.1 Access to financial capital
1.2 Revise the Allodial Act to ensure equality
1.2 Establish research politics that focuses on equality and gender, in particular that gender research shall include the agricultural sector
1.3 Collaboration with the Norwegian Bureau of Statistics to improve statistics at macro level to include all agricultural properties
1.4 Allocate resources to recruitment activities; in particular female recruitment
1.5 Earmark research funds to studies on equality; in particular female recruitment
1.6 Information and recruitment work, in particular parent generation and future farmers

2. Increase the Number of Female Participants in Agriculture and in Related Businesses
2.1 Revise registered data in the Register authority and information source to include two registered operators per farm
2.2 Improve the social system for self-employed
2.3 Strengthen female participation in farm cooperatives
2.4 Introduce financial support to young farmers under the age of 35, with larger amounts to female farmers
2.5 Improve social security for self-employed to equal that of the employed
2.6 Set aside resources in the annual agreement of agricultural trade to equality studies
2.7 Continued updating of the public statistics
2.8 Strengthen the reputation of farmers and actors within the agricultural sector
2.9 Work that creates an attitude, in particular agriculture sector and network building

3. Strengthen Female Influence and Power in the Agricultural Sector
3.1 Work that creates an attitude, in particular agriculture and information about the sector
3.2 Information and knowledge transfer, in particular towards the media
3.3 Micro studies about participation in agriculture
3.4 Purposeful actions towards recruitment to boards and decision-making bodies

For further details about the plan of action, please contact the Ministry of Agriculture and Food at phone +47 22 24 90 90 or e-mail postmottak@lmd.dep.no