With women comprising just 30% of Europe’s Agri-Food entrepreneurs, the AWARE project embraced the principle “if she can see it, she can be it," focusing on developing innovative training and mentoring highlighting the importance of showcasing successful female leaders in the sector. The project found that women entrepreneurs encounter greater challenges than men, particularly in accessing finance, training, networking, and balancing family responsibilities when starting and managing a business. The absence of tailored entrepreneurial training and mentoring for women in the Agri-Food sector were identified as significant barriers to the growth of women entrepreneurs in this field. AWARE was an Erasmus+ funded project with partners from Poland, UK, Italy, Belgium and Ireland. This collaborative partnership allowed us to unite learners, entrepreneurs, mentors, and educators across Europe, resulting in cross-cultural learning, resource sharing, and the exchange of expertise. Their contribution enabled the team to address the barriers to women entrepreneurship in the sector and inform the development of freely accessible training, educational supports, research, and resources that: • Ensure social inclusion for women in the Agri-Food sector • Raise awareness of the importance of supporting women entrepreneurs in this field through mentoring programs • Equip educators with the knowledge to adapt new and existing curricula to include entrepreneurial training and mentoring for women in the sector The project was not about training women to become entrepreneurs; through establishing networks and connections it focused on creating a future where women in Europe's Agri-Food sector have the opportunity to thrive, lead, and inspire the next generation.
Finalist
Impactful Research of the Year Award
Advancing Women in Agri-Food Rural Environments (AWARE)
Finalist of the Impactful Research of the Year Award
Atlantic Technological University, Galway (ATU, Galway) - Ireland (Republic)
"See It, Be It: Empowering women entrepreneurs in Agri-Food "
Engage on social media
@AgriwomenAWARE(Official AWARE project Twitter)
@agriwomenaware(Official AWARE project Instagram account)
@AgriwomenAWARE(Official AWARE Facebook account)
linkedin.com/in/dr-lisa-ryan-rnutr-260ba024(Dr Lisa Ryan LinkedIn account)
linkedin.com/in/mariamcdonagheducation(Maria McDonagh LinkedIn account)
@ATU_GalwayCity(Official Atlantic Technological University, Galway Twitter account)
@atu_ie(Official Atlantic Technological University Twitter account)
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Summary
Key People
Dr Lisa Ryan
Head of School of Science and Computing
Atlantic Technological University, Galway (ATU, Galway)
Maria McDonagh
Research Project Manager
Department of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition ,
Atlantic Technological University, Galway (ATU, Galway)
Aisling Moran
Project Coordinator
Department of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition ,
Atlantic Technological University, Galway (ATU, Galway)
Ciara Murray
Training and Development Officer
Macra Na Feirme, Ireland
Gillian Richardson
Agricultural Skillnet Network Manager
Macra Na Feirme, Ireland
Professor Yanging Duan
Professor of Information Systems
University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United Kingdom
Dr Yongmei Bentley
Lecturer in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
University of Bedfordshire, Luton, United Kingdom
Jessica Fitch
Consultant in EU Advocacy, Public and Regulatory Affairs
PROPEL Europe, Belgium
Diana Nitu
Project Manager
PROPEL Europe, Belgium
Natalia Truszkowska
Project Manager
Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre, Poland
Klaudia Liszewska
Project Officer
Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre, Poland
Cosimo Righini
Project Coordinator
Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori Toscana, Italy
Alessandra Alberti
Project Officer
Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori Toscana, Italy
Acknowledgements
The AWARE project was led by the project team from Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Galway, Ireland working in partnership with Macra na Feirme (MnF), in Ireland, University of Bedfordshire (UoB), in the UK, Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori (CIA) Toscana, in Italy, PROPEL Europe, in Belgium, and The Polish Farm Advisory and Training Centre (PFA), in Poland.
This project was funded with support from the European Commission as part of the Erasmus+ KA2 fund, project number 2020-1-IE01-KA202-066017.
Images
Women entrepreneurs attending an AWARE workshop in Italy
Women Agri-Food entrepreneurs presenting at a project training event in Ireland
AWARE project team and guest speakers at a project event in ATU, Ireland
AWARE project dissemination event in Poland
Exploring beautiful Florence during an AWARE project event
AWARE Mentoring workshop in the University of Bedfordshire,UK
AWARE project partner meeting, Ireland
Partners attending the final project dissemination event in Brussels
IMPACT STORY
Impacting lifesThe project's impact goes beyond individual stories. Access to the training and resources developed by the project has fostered a sense of solidarity and collective empowerment among women who support each other in overcoming Agri-Food entrepreneurship challenges. This collaborative spirit was evident from project commencement when eighteen women took part in focus groups in partner countries speaking of their struggles to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to grow their businesses. Feeling isolated in rural areas, they lacked confidence, support, and time for education and mentoring. These insights guided the project team in tailoring outputs to overcome these barriers and were published to generate awareness of the need to support women’s entrepreneurship in the sector. In October 2022, fifteen female Agri-Food entrepreneurs from Europe travelled to Ireland for an accelerated training course developed by the project. Over four days, they engaged in sector-specific training and mentoring, resulting in a transformative impact where over 50% of participants grew their businesses. More importantly, they found a community of like-minded women who share their passion and determination to strive for a cultural change in the sector. This inspired project partners to establish local support networks that aim to develop women entrepreneurs in Agri-Food. Additionally, 147 women and stakeholders attended project events to evaluate project outputs with 960 online followers supporting the project’s vision. Collectively through their active participation in the project, the efforts of these women have boosted the visibility of female role models and are recognising their contributions to the Agri-Food sector.
LEARNINGS
Lessons learned
Collaboration is a term often associated with research and project development and perhaps its popularity can sometimes underestimate how powerful it is. When collaborative research amplifies the voices that are usually less heard in society, significant change becomes possible. AWARE set out to understand why only 30% of entrepreneurs in Europe’s Agri-Food sector were women and explore what could be done to increase this figure. The key learning for us was to listen to the women in the sector instead of assuming we understood their challenges. They expressed issues like low confidence, isolation, feelings of inadequacy, and skills gaps. What they wanted was connection, support, mentorship, flexible and informal learning opportunities, and a focus on inclustivity. Conducting surveys, focus groups, training, workshops, and dissemination activities allowed us to engage with over 380 women in the Agri-Food sector. Their feedback was crucial in shaping the development of sector-specific training, mentoring programs, and resources that will inspire more women in the Agri-Food sector. Even more significant than anticipated was the collective empowerment of women entrepreneurs throughout the project. The support networks, communities and initiatives formed through AWARE represent an achievement beyond our expectations.
Our advice to those embarking on a similar project would be:
- Gain an understanding of the unique challenges of the target group
- Place a value on inclusive and collaborative research design involving your target audience from the outset of the project
- Consider the need for tailored support mechanisms that can accommodate unique circumstances
FUTURE PLANS
What's coming?The Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is committed to developing life-long learning opportunities through our teaching and research that support regional development. It serves a diverse student body and values learning and teaching informed by research which is why projects such as AWARE are so significant. In 2015, ATU achieved the Athena SWAN Bronze Award which recognises a solid foundation for eliminating gender bias and developing an inclusive culture. Striving to support equality and diversity in all its forms, ATU promote projects and implement programmes that can have a positive impact in achieving equality in society. Since 2017 the project team have been involved in a considerable number of research projects that focus on ensuring all players in the Agri-Food sector are equipped with the resources required to innovate the sector. AWARE inspired the team to successfully secure funding for further research in the sector. Collaborating with partners from the AWARE project, the ATU team will lead a further two European projects. The projects will aim to create research and educational tools to equip Agri-Food entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills needed to address sustainability challenges in the sector. Additionally, they will focus on enhancing the food chain by implementing community initiatives that support smaller food producers and businesses. The team will build on the networks established through the AWARE project to further develop and refine training and resources, ensuring that the sector's input shapes these efforts and that all stakeholders have a voice.
