• The project—funded by the Horizon Europe program—will identify and promote women's contributions to innovation in rural areas and agricultural practices within the European Union.
• The project is governed by a public-private conglomerate of 10 European countries, including Spain.

Rural women, often agricultural pioneers and drivers of rural development, are familiar with innovation and innovative practices, although they are often not visible or recognized.

To this end, the European project "Female -led innovation in agriculture and rural areas" (FLIARA) was created , with the aim of supporting innovative practices led by women in European agriculture and rural areas.

FLIARA's main objective is to create a Europe-wide ecosystem that supports these practices. To this end, FLIARA aims to improve understanding, awareness, and recognition of women's role in a more sustainable rural future, as well as develop policy and governance frameworks that improve the management of women living and working in rural areas.

A network for the community

The project participants are called upon to research women-led innovations in rural areas of the four macro-regions of the European Union: Atlantic, Central and Eastern, Nordic, Baltic, and Mediterranean. FLIARA will create and develop a "Community of Practice Network" that will serve as a learning platform for all stakeholders involved in rural and agricultural innovation.

The project, which launched on January 27th, is currently defining the foundations of its structure and the next steps to follow. All this with the aim of transcending gender stereotypes that ignore the progress women have made in the agricultural sector and rural development, and which can serve as leaders in these fields within the European Union.

Components

FLIARA is funded by the Horizon Europe program and is comprised of fifteen public and private organizations from ten European countries, coordinated by the University of Galway (Ireland) for three years. The consortium will focus its activities on research and evaluation of innovative practices led by women.

Spain's participation is made up of Consulta Europa (Canary Islands), a Spanish SME dedicated to managing research, education, and innovation projects. Speaking to Red Rural Nacional (RRN) , Víctor Martínez, one of the project's researchers and a member of Consulta Europa, revealed that "Spain and Italy are the only European countries that will focus on the Mediterranean region. In our case, we will map innovative practices carried out by rural women throughout Spain and present a first snapshot of them in early 2024."