Overview

The Women in Agriculture Taskforce aims to give women in farming access to the same development opportunities as men in this sector.  This will ensure the long term sustainability and resilience of Scotland’s rural economy.   

Research shows that women’s development in agriculture is vital to increasing the size of the skilled workforce, as well as unlocking talent to help drive the industry forward. 

The taskforce activities centre around – but are not limited to – the recommendations in the Women in Farming and the Agricultural Sector: research report.

The taskforce will be making specific recommendations on a number of areas including:

• making training and skills development more accessible for women  
• succession planning and inheritance for farming families
• the development of  an Equality Charter for all agricultural businesses to enable them to make the most of their people
• addressing issues of childcare in rural areas

The taskforce published a progress report in June 2018 and is set to publish a final report in autumn 2019.

Members

• Fergus Ewing - Cabinet Secretary of Rural Economy and Connectivity, Joint Chair
• Joyce Campbell - hill farmer and Joint Chair
• Nina Clancy - Chief Executive of RSABI, Scotland's agricultural charity, Director SAOS and AgriScot and partner in a sheep enterprise in the Borders
• Patrick Krause - Chief Executive of the Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF)
• Professor Wayne Powell - Principal and Chief Executive of SRUC
• Dr Lee-Ann Sutherland - Senior Researcher, The James Hutton Institute
• Professor Sally Shortall - Duke of Northumberland Chair of Rural Economy, Newcastle University
• Dr Annie McKee - Social researcher in land management, The James Hutton Institute
• Andrew McCornick - a beef and sheep farmer from Wigtown, President of NFU Scotland
• Andrew Marchant - QMS Monitor Farm, new entrant, tenant farmer, upland farm, Clonhie Farm, Nithsdale, Dumfriesshire
• Sarah Jane Laing - Executive Director Scottish Land and Estates, lives on family farm in the Borders
• Sandy Hay - Bank of Scotland Area Director Agriculture, representing the bank on agricultural matters across Scotland
• Anne Rae MacDonald - partner of an arable farming business in Easter Ross, director of Highland Business Services co-operative and a council member of SAOS Ltd
• Janelle Anderson - Scottish Association of Young Farmer's Clubs (SAYFC)
• Caroline Bysh - Director of Marketing, Digital and Communications, SRUC

Documents

• Women in Agriculture Taskforce: final report
• Women in Agriculture Taskforce: summary report
• Women in agriculture: training flyer
• Acknowledging women in agriculture: taskforce progress report
• Women in agriculture: statistical data
• Women in agriculture task force: members' biographies
• Women in farming and the agriculture sector: research report