The IV AGRO Women’s Awards highlight the value of Agroprofessional Women to the European Commission
The winners of the IV AGRO Women’s Awards were: Manuela Juárez Iglesia, Ex Investigadora del CSIC, Actual Profesora de investigación “ad honorem” CIAL (CSIC-UAM) in the Women’s Category; Marta García Martínez, responsible for the livestock farm “Val del Mazo”, in the Entrepreneurship Category; Verdimed, a fruit and vegetable producer and exporter located in Murcia, in the Business Category; Juan Rafael Leal Rubio, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía, in Andalucía, in the Men’s Category; Remedios Sánchez Quirós, farmer at the Camino Roya goat farm Camino Roya, in the Youth Category; and Bioazul the winning company in the new category of the AGRO Women’s Awards, Food Tech.
Siete Agromarketing y eComercio Agrario, promoters of the project, have held the IV Mujer Agro Awards, for the second consecutive year, in Mercamadrid in hybrid format, in recognition of the agri-food sector and its commitment to the implementation of equality plans in companies. ‘Equality is a task for everyone’. This slogan was highlighted during her speech at the closing of the event by María Ángeles Benítez Salas, Director of the European Commission Representation in Spain, who gave data on the differences in ownership in agri-food companies between men and women in the European Union. The average stands at 30%, a percentage that is around the same as that of women in Spain. However, as María Ángeles Benítez Salas pointed out, “this is a far cry from the figures recorded in the Baltic countries, where it is 50%”. However, “there are many differences between Member States”. In the Netherlands, Malta and Germany, for example, only 10% of agri-food business owners are women”.
Andalusia stands out as the origin of three of the award winners: Juan Rafael Leal Rubio, president of Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de Andalucía; Remedios Sánchez Quirós, farmer at the Camino Roya goat farm; and Bioazul, a company in the Food Tech sector. The Region of Murcia, through Verdimed, also places this region on the map on the road to equality.
Epicentre of the Agri-Food Sector
Laura Cristóbal Gracia, , General Manager of EFE Agro, opened the ceremony with Ainhoa García López, Director of External Relations of Mercamadrid, who showed the importance of Mercamadrid as the centre of food distribution.
Gissèle Falcón Haro, Director of Siete Agromarketing, highlighted the involvement of the agricultural organisations, cooperatives and institutions present, as well as all the candidates presented in this edition of the awards, sponsors and collaborators. During the month of March, said the director Siete Agromarketing, the media attention and society in general is focused on women, to make their achievements visible at an international level, and what remains to be done to achieve real equality. But “we are women all year, why don´t we show the necessary equality of conditions 365 days a year? The meaning of being a feminist “is none other than being in favour of women and men having the same rights and opportunities”. In this regard, Gissèle Falcón emphasised, with the AGRO Women Project “we work and raise awareness to be a meeting and reflection point to break down the barriers that currently exist, promoting the importance of communicating equality, equity and CSR, always aligned with the SDGs, because we believe that equality is a task for everyone, as reflected in the slogan that presides over us”. In this sense, the director of Siete Agromarketing, has specified that in order to achieve real equality, “it is necessary to promote social responsibility in general and equality policies in companies and institutions”.
The percentage of women owners of farms and agri-food businesses is 30% in Spain, in line with the European average, but far from the Baltic countries, where it reaches 50%.
This fourth edition has been held with the sponsorship of companies such as Caser Seguros, Onubafruit, Sakata, Cooperativa Agrícola San Isidro (CASI), and Bayer . Partners such as Mercamadrid, Vicasol SCA, Eurocaja Rural y Eurosol.
Mujer AGRO: “The Importance of Equality Plans in the agri-food sector”
Prior to the awards ceremony, we attended the discussion on “The Importance of Equality Plans in the agri-food sector” by Tania Lucía Benito, Head of the Women’s Department of the Subdirector General for the Revitalisation of the Rural Environment, of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who stated that in real equality in society, in general, and in the rural environment, in particular, differences and gaps are accentuated. In her speech, she referred to the policies that favour equality and which are carried out by the Spanish Government. She spoke of opportunities such as the inclusion of gender equality in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Currently, according to the latest available data, only 32% of farms are owned by women, “a low percentage” that commits us to continue working to close all the existing gaps in rural areas”.
Susana Estudillos Esteban, Manager of Equality, Diversity and Social Responsibility at AENOR, pointed out “the importance of companies being certified in equality as an added value”. Estudillo explained the role of equality in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, being the fifth goal of the SDGs. “To carry out an equality plan and maintain this commitment is to advance in social sustainability within the company”.
Susana Camarero Benítez, President of the National Confederation of Women in Equality, Consultant and former Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality, took part in this discussion and focused on detailing how to develop and implement an Equality Plan in a company is important. “It is an opportunity for companies to achieve a balance by seeking diversity, improving their competitiveness, image and human resources”. Camarero alluded to key concepts in the development of an Equality Plan, such as promotion, talent, training, conciliation and co-responsibility.
Bienvenida Pascual Sánchez, Vice-President of Cooperativa Agrícola de San Isidro (CASI), explained the experience of the cooperative in which she is a member and she takes a position of responsibility on the Governing Council, where, since the last internal democratic the Cooperative and the Presidency decided that three women, for the first time, should form part of the Governing Council. Thanks to the work carried out CASI through its Equality Plan, the cooperative is moving towards the normality of men and women being able to carry out the same functions. “We can see a change in mentality by the new generations, demonstrating that we are making progress in equality and that women are taking on roles of responsibility and decision-making in all departments,” said Bienvenida Pascual.
Agri-food Equality Awards
The award in the Women’s category went to Manuela Juárez Iglesia, former CSIC researcher and current “ad honorem” research professor at the CIAL (CSIC-UAM). The jury valued the winner as one of the greatest and most renowned researchers in the agri-food sector, not only at national level but also at international level. Juárez Iglesia has been a member of countless research and scientific committees in the food sector, carrying out important work in the dairy sector.
The IV Mujer Agro Award in the Entrepreneurship category went to Marta García Martínez, head of the “Val del Mazo”. livestock farm. Marta García Martínez is 41, a young woman who decided to leave the city in 2013 to set up her own business in a high mountain village with six inhabitants per square kilometre, investing in extensive livestock farming. Ganadería Val de Mazo has six lines of business: production and reproduction of five native breeds in danger of extinction; marketing under four differentiated quality seals; experiences of total immersion in livestock farming; agrotourism with accommodation; sustainable management of farm waste to obtain earthworm humus; production and reproduction of earthworms.
In the AGRO Women’s Company category, the award went to Verdimed, , with Marta Garrido Martínez, the company’s Director of People, receiving the prize. The jury’s deliberation took into account the company’s extensive experience in equality and family reconciliation programmes and projects. Verdimed, has received numerous awards and recognitions that endorse its work in favour of real equality between men and women, both within its community and at national level, including the Distinction of Equality awarded by the Ministerio de Igualdad.
Juan Rafael Leal Rubio, President of Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de Andalucía, won IV Mujer Agro Award in the Men’s category. The jury, considered Juan Rafael Leal Rubio’s candidacy to be worthy of this award, on his own merits and for his long career in favour of equal opportunities for men and women in the agri-food sector. During Juan Rafael Leal Rubio’s have marked the organisation’s work in favour of equality between men and women. The first was the promotion and formalisation of the federation’s Equal Opportunities Department. The second was the creation of the Asociación de Mujeres de Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de Andalucía, AMCAE-Andalucía.
In the Youth category, the award went to the young livestock farmer Remedios Sánchez Quirós, from the Camino Roya goat farm. Remedios Sánchez Quirós is 34 and is in charge of the Camino Roya goat farm, which has almost 500 animals. Her high academic qualifications, her experience abroad, and at the same time her commitment to the rural environment, have been decisive in the jury’s decision. Through COAG,, she is a member of theEuropean Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) and since 2018, as an expert, she attends the ‘Civil Dialogue Group on Animal Products: Sheepmeat, Goatmeat and Beekeeping Sectors’, which is convened by the European Commission for Agriculture and Rural Development and held periodically in Brussels.
To conclude the award ceremony the new category Food Tech, went to the company Bioazul,, with its CEO, Antonia Lorenzo. The Jury valued the quality of the project presented, which solves two real problems in our country thanks to the use of technology: the necessary circularity of water and the saving of fertilisers. It also valued the social and economic impact, as well as the various equality policies that are carried out within the company, together with the fact that the project is led by a woman, with a majority of the members being women.
To suam up María Ángeles Benítez Salas, Director of the Representation of the European Commission in Spain, closed the IV Edition of the AGRO Women’s Awards. In addition to providing data on female ownership in European agri-food companies,”equality forms part of the principles on which all the policies carried out by the European Commission are based”. The public administrations, she added, “have a responsibility to promote actions that favour equality”, because “the more diversity, the more quality and sustainability”.
The Director of the European Commission Representation in Spain has highlighted the economic impact that a firm commitment to equality would have, based on the study carried out by the European Institute for Gender Equality in 2017 on the economic benefits of equality, the conclusions of which include an increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as a general employment rate of 80%. A starting point that endorses the previous voices reached, on the same subject and conclusions, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The event followed on social networks and live streaming. Under the hashtag #MujerAGRO, #PremiosMujerAGRO y #IVPremiosMujerAGRO, with 500 tuits. This has meant that the hashtags have had a potential impact of over 2,263,000 views. During the broadcast, the match reached a total of 200 views.
Jury
The jury is made up of experts and institutions of recognised prestige in the agri-food sector, including representatives of the following organisations Siete Agromarketing, Fundación LAFER, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Asociación de Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España y Asociación de Mujeres de Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias de España (AMCAE), Asociación para la Promoción del Consumo de Frutas y Hortalizas “5 al Día”, Plataforma Food for Live – Spain (PTF4LS), Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas (UPM), Organización Interprofesional Láctea, INLAC and la Asociación Nacional de Ingenieros Agrónomos (ANIA).
The new category, WOMAN AGRO Food Tech, it has its own rules and its own jury, made up of: Siete Agromarketing, WA4STEAM, AMIT – MIT, Red de Mujeres por la Innovación y la Tecnología (Asociación de Mujeres Investigadoras & Tecnológicas), Forward Fooding, EuroFintech, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y de Montes de la Universidad de Córdoba (ETSIAM), la Asociación Nacional de Ingenieros Agrónomos (ANIA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), y Organización Interprofesional Láctea, INLAC
