Stories of innovation, multifunctionality, social, biodiversity, environment. Many stories and not just numbers. There are 42 thousand women in Tuscan agriculture, representing 32% of the sector, which rises to 38% among the agricultural business owners associated with the Cia.
The contribution of women in enhancing the territory, biodiversity and the multifunctionality of the enterprise was discussed today in Florence, at a conference organized by Cia Agricoltori Italiani della Toscana.
“Women in agriculture – he said Valentino Berni, president of Cia Toscana – have greater ability to deal with some situations. Multifunctionality has always been one of our battles, and perhaps without taking anything away from men, women have grasped it better, they are much more multifunctional. The agritourism activity is an example, the ability to offer our territory in a different way. We often find the dynamism that agriculture needs thanks to women. There are many challenges, and we must unite to face them, the margins are less and less, we must find a way to form a team and network, to have greater incomes and overcome the challenges of this historical period together”. He recalled the commitment of Cia Toscana with Donne in Campo, the director of Cia Toscana Giordano Pascucci, “central in our agricultural companies and in Cia representation also in terms of numbers”.
In Italy, 4.3% of women-owned businesses have at least one related activity, in Tuscany it is 16%, he recalled Alessandra Alberti, Cia Toscana, who moderated the meeting citing Istat Census data. “Multifunctionality in agriculture is female – he recalled Lorenza Albanese, president of Donne in Campo Toscana -. Women tend to make agriculture more ‘humanistic’ and sustainable, a greater incidence which is explained by the natural female propensity towards innovation and multifunctionality, the greater ability to adapt, the stronger bond with the territory, the culture , tradition and local knowledge. This trend is also linked to the fact that women do not perceive the company only as a source of income, but also as a lifestyle”. Furthermore, Albanese added: “In terms of the incidence of service activities on the entire value of agricultural production for individual countries, Italian agriculture confirms itself to be the most multifunctional in Europe, and on these data we can say that Tuscany has a fundamental role. Even among the number of agritourisms in Italy, over 50% are run by women.”
During the conference, various personal, corporate and food community experiences were recalled through interventions by women from Tuscan agriculture.
Conclusions from Pina Terenzi, national president of Women in the Field Cia: “The farmer is not only a producer of food, but also a producer of services and in this women are protagonists. We must make sharing the element that distinguishes us, continuing to work so that we can have women in representative roles and new ideas and new life.”
Intervention carried out with EAFRD co-financing of the 2014-2020 Rural Development Program of the Tuscany Region Submeasure 1.2.
Source: CIA Tuscany
