BOKU Institute for Development Research

Podcast Series: Towards Feminist Agroecological Futures in Europe 👩‍🌾👨‍🌾

Today at the on , the releases the first 4 episodes in its collaboratively created podcast series "Soil Sisters: Towards Feminist Agroecological Futures in Europe".

The series draws attention to the leadership of women and gender diverse peasants in the creation of policies and practices to support , , environmental protection, territorial markets, cultural memory, and collective organizing.

🎧 Tune in through the SWIFT Portal: https://t.ly/0P67F

🌾 Where does our food come from, and how is it produced?
👩‍🌾 Who is behind it, and what is life like today as a female farmer in Austria?

We explored these questions yesterday with students at the 📚. Together with colleagues from and für nachhaltige Kompetenz, we designed an interactive workshop that made the different stages and actors in the food system visible.

Afterwards, the students had the chance to learn what everyday life on a farm looks like, why some successors chose not to continue farming, and how agriculture continues to shape both their art and work.




📸 Photo credits: BStadlmayr ; CVoigt

🌾 Woher kommen unsere Lebensmittel, wie werden sie produziert?
👩‍🌾 Wer steckt dahinter und wie lebt es sich heute eigentlich als Bäuerin in Österreich?

Diese Fragen haben wir gestern mit Schülerinnen der 📚 bearbeitet. Gemeinsam mit Kolleginnen der und haben wir einen interaktiven Workshop gestaltet, in dem die unterschiedlichen Stationen und Akteurinnen im Ernährungssystem sichtbar wurden.

Danach hatten die Schülerinnen die Möglichkeit zu erfahren, wie der Alltag auf dem Bauernhof aussieht, warum sich Nachfolgerinnen entschieden, diesen nicht weiterzuführen, aber auch, wie die Landwirtschaft weiterhin ihre Kunst und Arbeit prägt.




📸 Photo credits: BStadlmayr ; CVoigt

🌾 A Fairer Future for Farming: BOKU Hosts Policy Dialogue on Gender Equality in Agriculture 🌍

In February 2025, the European Commission presented its vision for a more sustainable and inclusive agricultural sector. A central goal: tackling the upcoming generational change by involving more women and ensuring better protection for agricultural workers. But the reality still looks different -- Europe's agricultural sector remains male-dominated and unequal, putting the long-term viability of rural areas at risk.

With the upcoming reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2028, there's a critical opportunity to make farming more fair, more gender-equitable, and more attractive - especially for youth, women and gender-diverse persons.

👥 On May 8, 2025, 24 experts from across the agricultural sector—including ministries and the Austrian Small Farmers' Association (ÖBV)—came together at BOKU Vienna as part of the EU Horizon SWIFT project (Supporting Women-led Innovations in Farming and rural Territories). Similar dialogues were held in Poland and Spain.

Key recommendations that were discussed:

✅ Making small farms more viable through accessible, result-oriented funding

✅ A more holistic and flexible approach to subsidy distribution

✅ Reforming advisory services and training structures to be more gender-sensitive

✅ Redistribution of care work

✅ Dedicated education and training opportunities for women

✅ Greater permeability in agricultural education to overcome gender norms

✅ Gender quotas in representational functions

✅ Systematic collection and reporting of gender-disaggregated data

Find the final report here:https://swiftproject.eu/files/2025/06/250616_SWIFT-Policy-Dialogues-BRIEF-FINAL.pdf

✨ Agri-briefing alert! The has just published its 5️⃣ recommendations for a gender-transformative . Right in time for the .europa.eu's 2028 discussions.

Highlights:
✖️ NO "add women and stir" approach
✔️ YES prioritising gender, creating equal playing fields, rejecting gender norms

LINK https://t.ly/mmXzX

APPEAR in practice | Strengthening Organic Agriculture in Armenia 🌾🌍

Join us on 24 April 2025, 18:00 🕕 at OeAD for an insightful event!

We’ll present the outcomes of the Strengthening Organic Agriculture in Armenia project 📊, highlight the successes of the APPEAR partnership 🤝, explore challenges in Armenia’s organic sector 🌿, and reflect on the collaboration between Austrian and Armenian institutions.

We’ll also discuss the future of education 🎓, research 🔬, and public outreach 📢 in organic agriculture in Armenia.

APPEAR in practice | Stärkung des ökologischen Landbaus in Armenien 🌱

Der OeAD lädt am 24.04.2025 🗓️ zu einer Veranstaltung ein, bei der die Ergebnisse des Projekts „Stärkung des ökologischen Landbaus in Armenien" präsentiert werden.

Im Fokus stehen die Erfolge der APPEAR-Partnerschaft 🤝, die Herausforderungen des armenischen Biosektors 🌿 sowie die Zusammenarbeit zwischen österreichischen und armenischen Institutionen.

Zudem wird die Zukunft von Ausbildung 🎓, Forschung 🔬 und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit 📣 im Bereich des ökologischen Landbaus in Armenien diskutiert.