Women-Led Innovation in Agriculture and Rural Areas: A Short Literature Review Grounding Data Analysis

The provided literature review has a particular concentration on innovations and smart solutions around access to capital resources, environmental sustainability, climate action and ecological transitions, in addition to community and social innovations. Innovation in rural areas is increasingly recognised as one of the key methods of stimulating growth and development. Rural innovation is here defined as introducing something new (a novel change) to the economic or social life in rural areas, which adds new economic or social value to rural life. More specifically we see agricultural innovation as when farms restructure internal resources to enhance the production of high-quality goods or diversifying agricultural activities into both agricultural domains (like crop and animal breeding) and non-agricultural sectors (such as rural tourism).

Women are inclined to engage in farm diversification innovations, especially those with public-facing aspects such as direct marketing and agri-tourism. In addition, they often undertake smaller-scale innovations that align with their caregiving responsibilities. Thus, potentially causing their innovative contributions to be overlooked by both agricultural subsidies and rural development initiatives. Women can lead innovation and diversification in rural areas by creating new activities, products, and services, leveraging their awareness of local needs, as well as specific interpersonal and communication skills. 

However, women-led innovations are often overlooked in statistics because Eurostat primarily focuses on ‘managers’ or ‘sole holders’ of farms, rendering women invisible. Especially if they are not categorised as the ‘sole holder’ and are instead classified as ‘family labour,’ irrespective of their contribution to decision-making on family farms. The under-reporting of women’s involvement in decision-making on EU farms varies across countries, with the percentage of women sole holders ranging from 5% in the Netherlands to 45% in Latvia and Lithuania, averaging 29%. Furthermore, Eurostat does not monitor ethnicity or race concerning farm management, leaving the predominant whiteness of EU farmers unrecorded and unaddressed.  

The provided literature review centres on topics concerning the realms of innovation and sustainability, particularly relevant to women in farming and rural areas. These focal points include a range of advancements, including revolutionising access to capital resources to address financial challenges faced by women in agriculture, pioneering environmental sustainability through eco-friendly farming practices, trailblazing climate action initiatives for resilient responses to climate change impacts, advancements in ecological transitions promoting sustainable farming methods, community-driven innovations emphasising collaborative solutions within local contexts, and socially impactful innovations contributing to equality and empowerment for women engaged in agriculture.