Walsh: 'Fairness' for female farmers must be 'core' in new CAP
An Irish MEP has called for gender equality for female farmers to be made a core objective of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Maria Walsh, who is a member of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, recently submitted a number of proposals on the next CAP for 2028 to 2034.
She said her proposals "put gender equality at the heart of the new CAP, while also prioritising farmers' mental health and rural development funding".
She also reinforced her call for 10% ringfenced funding for young farmers and secure pension schemes for those at the end of their careers.
Walsh commented: "Equality for women within the next CAP cannot be an afterthought, it must be front and centre of the current negotiations.
"Improving the participation of women in agriculture and the wider rural economy must be a specific objective of the new CAP, as I have called for in my proposals," she added.
She called for each national government in the EU to assess the situation of women in farming and address the specific challenges faced on the ground.
"I have called for the inclusion of practical supports for female farmers to help address the challenges, such as advice on business management, access to land and finance, participation in innovation and knowledge networks, succession planning and equal access to public support," the Fine Gael MEP said.
"Creating a truly gender-equal CAP also requires providing for times of leave, in particular for maternity leave.
"One of my key proposals calls for all governments to provide support for farm relief services, allowing farmers to take time off for sickness, mental health, childbearing, maternity and paternity leave, caring responsibilities for children and other family members, holidays, and other significant life events," Walsh added.
She also said that protecting rural communities was a key part of her CAP proposals, drawing particular attention to the LEADER rural development programme.
"LEADER programmes are a lifeline right across rural Ireland yet their funding is currently at risk.
"As part of my amendments to the new CAP, I have called for LEADER funding to be mandatory in all EU countries, with a minimum financial allocation of at least 5% of the total CAP budget dedicated to rural development," she said.
Walsh said that negotiations on the new CAP will now continue, and she stressed that the end result will determine "the future of Irish agriculture and our rural communities into the next decade".
