Prime Highlights-
- Carla Lockhart MP pays tribute to rural women driving Northern Ireland’s farming sector and calls for stronger recognition and opportunities.
- DUP agriculture spokesperson backs better training, childcare and rural services to help women farmers reach their full potential across agriculture.
Key Facts-
- Women form over forty percent of the global agri-food workforce, which drove the United Nations year designation.
- UFU Women in Agri-Leadership Programme builds confidence, skills and networks for women across the agri-food sector.
Background-
DUP Agriculture spokesperson Carla Lockhart MP has praised the vital role women play across Northern Ireland’s farming sector and rural communities, as she marked International Day of Rural Women.
Lockhart, who represents Upper Bann, grew up on a farm and is the daughter, sister and wife of farmers. She said she knows firsthand the commitment and resilience needed to run a family farm, and the many duties women carry for their families and businesses.
She said women work on farms, manage accounts, care for livestock, raise children and hold jobs off the farm. In her view, they bring great skill, shape farm decisions, welcome new ideas, help diversify businesses and keep family farms strong for the next generation.
Lockhart called for wider opportunities for women in agriculture, including better access to training, business development, childcare and rural services. She also urged farms to give women a strong voice in decisions about their futures, and said the years women devote to family farms deserve full recognition.
She noted that women make up over forty percent of the global agri-food workforce, and the United Nations has named the International Year of the Woman Farmer in their honor.
Lockhart also welcomed the Ulster Farmers’ Union Women in Agri-Leadership Programme, which gives women the confidence, skills and networks to take leadership roles. She encouraged women across farming, agri-business, education and food production to apply.
