West Women in Farming Ireland (WWFI), in conjunction with Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), with host a comprehensive education event at the GMIT campus in Galway, on Thursday, January 25 from 9:00am to 2:00pm.

The official opening will be carried out at 10:00am.

The gathering’s key objective is to encourage and motivate women on farms to diversify and contribute to the viability of the farm and the sustainability of their own rural community.

The organisers aim to encourage the development and building of interpersonal links and the revival of the important social infastructure for those in remote areas. The event will showcase the supports that are available to those setting up an agri-enterprise, with experts in the education, business and agriculture sectors leading panel discussions.

There will be presentations from women who have found success with their enterprises, as outlined by Martina Calvey, Ciara Shields and Paula Mullen of West Women in Farming Ireland.

The event is dedicated to women working on farms, in the wider world of agriculture, and everyone with concerns for rural areas. All are welcome to attend and admission is free. Those interested in attending can register for the event online or at the door.

West Women in Farming Ireland was set up as part of a national movement to empower and support women in agriculture. An inclusive group, it has members from all backgrounds and of varying ages involved in agriculture.

Since the founding committee met in April 2017, it has hosted four public events, eight committee meetings and a committee trip to the European Parliament as guests of MEP Mairead McGuinness.

Events organised by West Women in Farming are all based on research that was conducted by the committee in early 2017 to highlight the needs identified among its growing membership. For more information, email: [email protected].