The role of women in Irish agriculture is a topic that has been garnering significant attention, and leading to important debate, of late. So, when the Central Statistics Office (CSO) launched its preliminary results of the 2020 Census of Agriculture this week, we were eager to learn the lay of the land in terms of farmer demographics and how they might have changed over the last decade.
Farm holder
For the purpose of the CSO’s report, a farm holder is the legal owner of a family farm.
The census, published every 10 years, presents a comprehensive picture of agricultural activity in Ireland.
In 2020, just over 18,000 farm holders were female – 13.4% or about one in every eight.
And, in the 10-year period from 2010 to 2020, there was a 1% increase in female farm holders – up from 12.4% or 17,345.
This represents an increase of 776 between 2010 and 2020.
Over the course of the decade, the number of female farm holders aged under 35 increased by 501, while the number aged 65, or over, increased by 868.
The number of female farm holders fell in the age groups between 45 and 64 years.
Farm holders – variation
The percentage of female farm holders varied from 10.4% in Monaghan to 16% in Mayo, according to the census.
There were seven counties where more than 14% of the farm holders were female, including: Mayo, Leitrim, Waterford, Sligo, Kerry, Wicklow and Cork.
There were also seven counties where less than 12% of the farm holders were female, including: Monaghan, Kilkenny, Cavan, Laois, Westmeath, Offaly and Carlow.
The number of male farm holders fell by 5,275 between 2010 and 2020. This comprised of a decrease of 12,057 in the age groups from 35 to 64, balanced by an increase of 6,628 for those aged 65 or over.
There was also a small increase of 154 in the number of male farm holders aged under 35.
Farm holders by hectare
The percentage of male farm holders was greater for the larger farm sizes when compared to smaller farm sizes in 2020.
Approximately 91% of the farm holders for farms above 50ha were male.
Almost 20% of farm holders on farms with fewer than 10ha were female.
The percentage of male farm holders was lower for all other smaller size classes:
- 9.3% for 30–50ha;
- 87.2% for 20–30ha;
- 85.1% for 10–20ha;
- 81.1% for fewer than 10ha.
Age profile
The age profile of farm holders has changed over the last 30 years, according to the report, and there are now fewer farm holders under the age of 45, and considerably more aged 65, or over.
In 2020, almost one third of all farm holders were aged 65, or over, compared to just above one fifth in 1991.
In 1991, 33.1% of farm holders were under the age of 45, whereas in 2020 this age group represented 20.8% of all farm holders.
The proportion of farm holders under 35 has been falling consistently since 1991 but there was a slight increase in the proportion in this youngest age category between 2010 and 2020, from 6.2% to 6.9%.
More information on the 2020 Census of Agriculture is available here