Category / Growing Young Leaders Stories

by Lynne Strong

Meet Veronika Vicic who sees a commitment to genuine and lasting relationships between producers and consumers as the key to success for agriculture

In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited emerging leaders in the agriculture sector to share with us what drives them. We also asked them to tells us if they had a magic wand what would they change in the agriculture sector.

Today we share PhD candidate Veronika Vicic’s story

“As future leaders of agriculture, its is imperative we encourage relationships between agriculture and the wider community by sharing our stories and our commitment to understanding the values of the community and shopping behaviours of consumers

Veronika invites us to:

  • Find innovative ways to keep the lines of communication open along the agricultural supply chain
  • Enable others to broaden their agricultural knowledge and  encourage individuals to enter our diverse industry will strengthen agriculture 

As a young person who grew up in Sydney  I only became aware of the  exciting opportunities in the agriculture sector at university. University has shown me research and development play a pivotal role in Australian agriculture supporting farmers to produce food and maintain the landscapes we grow it on

Being city born I am also aware that as future leaders of agriculture, it is imperative we encourage relationships between agriculture and the wider community by sharing our stories and our commitment to understanding the values of the community and shopping behaviours of consumers

Consumers in our society are becoming increasingly conscious of animal welfare standards, the quality of their food and where it is being sourced.  My first hand experience has shown me consumer views can be distanced from the reality of modern agricultural practices. The diversity of views shared on social and in print media can either expand the urban-rural gap, or minimise it. Bridging the gap is where I believe we should  begin.

Working within the industry has given me confidence we strive to maintain some of the world’s highest standards. It has also shown me it is imperative we communicate the efforts behind Australian producer’s work ethic and commitment to the quality products that consumers receive and how the industry maintains this standard by continually shaping business models to suit evolving consumer demands. I see our role is to communicate to our consumer audience in a way that everyone can understand and engage with.

Meat judging in Japan

My research is based within the beef and dairy industries. My team’s focus is to optimise supply chains for non-replacement calves within the dairy industry.   Producers are committed to giving their animals the best whole of life experience and my team supports them with the latest research to help them make the best decisions for their animals and their enterprises. When starting this project I could instantly see that the pathways of communication from producers to consumers were often lost along the supply chain and with the increasing consumer interest in supply chain transparency, this was the initial gap my team and I had to address.

Growing calves in Koroit 

The big question we asked was how do we engage with the community so they can identify biases and agendas in media, are able to distinguish fact from fiction and be informed consumers?

As a city kid exposed the world of agriculture at university I am passionate about sharing my story and encouraging other young people to follow my journey to a rewarding career in agriculture. Through my research I want to be able to support farmers to make the best decisions for their animals and their business and help them share their stories to encourage others to effectively navigate the complex and nuanced modern supply chain landscape.

Participating in consumer beef research

You can do a deeper dive into Veronika’s research here

 

 

by Lynne Strong

Meet Francesca Earp who is hungry for equality

In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited young people in agriculture to share with us their journey to a career in the agriculture sector. We asked them to show us what they stood for and if they could wave a magic wand what would they change.

Today we meet Francesca Earp  who shares with us her

  • Belief that gender inclusivity is the future of food security.
  • Young people can contribute to international agriculture
  • Empowering women benefits everyone

The is Francesca’s story ……

In November of 2018, less than a week after my final exam for my undergraduate degree, I packed my bags and moved to Laos. As my friends prepared for a uni free summer, I purchased a pair of zip-off pants. While my classmates worried about their final exam results, I worried about the waterproofing of my steel-capped boots. When everyone else my age was wondering what they were going to do with their lives, I unbeknownst to myself had already started.

I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone when I decided to enrol in my Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience, even though the closest I’d gotten to livestock was milking a cow at the Easter show. Despite my lack of experience, I’d somewhat made a name for myself as the girl who loved adventure and getting her hands dirty. During my degree, I spent my holidays in South Africa at a White Shark research centre or as a farmhand at a Goat farm in Rural NSW

 Francesca on a Rural placement on a goat farm in Wellington, NSW.

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my degree, but I did know I was interested in the relationships between communities and their farming culture. I also loved travel and had been hooked since a service trip to Nepal in my high school years

Francesca and girls from the Dream Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal

So, it also came as no surprise when I decided to complete my honours project in Laos, investigating the cost of foot-and-mouth disease control. Just weeks after returning from my trip to Laos, my supervisor asked if I’d be interested in returning to Laos full time. This time as the in-country implementation officer for two agricultural development programs. It was a no brainer.

I flew to Luang Prabang in November of 2018, determined to make a difference. I worked with farmers, government and university staff. It wasn’t until six months into my time in Laos that I realised what I was genuinely passionate about. I noticed that the female farmers sat at the back of the room during training, that they answered on behalf of their husband in surveys and that I was one of the only females in my team. I noticed female farmer exclusion and disempowerment. After that, I knew what I wanted to do. I became dedicated to the inclusion and empowerment of female farmers in a culturally appropriate manner. I designed non-verbal training tools such as board games and activity books to accommodate for the higher rates of illiteracy due to limited schooling

Female farmers in Xayabuli, Laos playing the board game designed by Francesca

 I ran female only training sessions. I became a PhD candidate, investigating the impact of socio-cultural factors on the uptake of agricultural development training programs, with a emphasis on the female farmer. My focus and passions go beyond the empowerment of female farmers in Laos. Just as food security is a global problem, so too is the exclusion of the female farming community. Female farmers in Australia still suffer the effects of gendered disempowerment themselves. With Australian women only becoming legally recognised as farmers as late as 1994.

Gendered poverty, traditional gender roles and patriarchal perceptions of female leadership all result in female disempowerment. Globally women are more likely to conclude formal education early, be victims of violence and displacement and often bear the responsibility of household management. In many counties, ‘ women are more susceptible to disease, malnourishment and the impacts of climate change.

The disempowerment of females results from long-standing and pervasive gendered marginalisation.

The experience of female farmers is a result of the socio-cultural factors of her community.

It is shaped by:

  • her age
  • her ethnicity
  • her community and
  • her beliefs.

For that reason, we need to tailor our gender empowerment strategies to our beneficiary groups.

Success comes from:

  • acknowledging the intersectionality of the female experience
  • being sensitive to the role of the female farmer in her own community.
  • learning to ask the right questions.
  • ensuring that development is custom-made to each community we apply it to.
  • being vigilant that the empowerment of marginalised groups is self-directed.
  • putting these women in the position that they can define their own empowerment.

Once we learn to do that, we will be empowering women the world over. Learning to tailor extension programs in Laos can teach us how to empower our own female farming communities here in Australia. Its an answer to a much bigger question.

Back in Australia, after a year and a half of living in Laos, I am still dedicated to the empowerment of the female farmer. To achieve my goals in gender development, I have devoted my studies to learn more about gender, sustainable development and agricultural extension. This has meant I had to make many changes to my original study plans, which saw me move to Cairns to complete my Masters of Global Development at James Cook University. For this Masters program, I am writing a thesis investigating the role of academics from the Asian region in creating feminist theory and scholarship. I am also completing a Master of Philosophy (science) at the University of Sydney, exploring the engagement of female farmers in gender-sensitive agricultural development projects in Laos. I will then begin my PhD at James Cook University in 2022, investigating the tensions between Western academic understandings of culturally sensitive female empowerment and its implementation in agricultural development programs.

I believe that we need to understand and recognise the cultural script of beneficiary communities so that we can tailor agricultural extension programs to these socio-cultural factors. More importantly, I believe in the power of the female farmer. I believe that inclusivity in agricultural extension programs will improve their equality and their successes. I believe that gender inclusivity is the future of food security.

 

Young Farming Champion Dr Anika Molesworth recently interviewed Francesca for our Leadership is Language series. You can watch the interview here

Read Francesca’s blog “Things my father taught me ”  here

Connect with Francesca:  LinkedIn and on Twitter 

#BtheChange #Changemakers #YouthinAg #YouthinAction #SDG5 #SDGs

 

by Lynne Strong

Meet Renae Kretchmer who became a farmer to be a cultivator of life and a steward of the land

 In partnership with Corteva Agriscience we invited young people in agriculture to share with us their journey to a career in the agriculture sector. We asked them to show us what they stood for and if they could wave a magic wand what would they change

 Today we begin the series with Renae Kretchmer story who is jointly celebrating her 21st birthday and the release of her Heywire video.

Renae shares with us

  • the strength of country communities, especially in times of need
  • farmers are some of the most driven, intelligent, innovative and resourceful scientists you will ever meet
  • showing young people that exciting young people are farming  will encourage a younger generation to become involved with agriculture
  • agriculture is sustainable, regenerative and innovative

Meet Renae Kretchmer

For those who don’t know farming, there are things that fill your heart with joy; like springing out of bed on a frosty morning as if it’s Christmas to check for newborn lambs, even when it’s too cold for the motorbike to start. Or, sitting out on the deck after a hard days’ work, looking across the land and knowing you’re truly doing good. It is having the satisfaction when a new species of native bird decides to call the farm home, or the delight in raising chickens totally free-range. It is having the opportunity to put your heart in what you do

As a kid I was asked; ‘what do you want to become?’

It was simple: A farmer.

Do the pictures you see of old bloke with a pitchfork scare our youth away from such a rewarding and fulfilling career in agriculture? Is this stereotype masking the fact that farmers are actually some of the most driven, intelligent, innovative and resourceful scientists you will ever meet?

Despite the perception an A-grade student may not be perceived to ‘want to be a farmer’. I was proud to answer the question?

I wanted to be part of the new generation that you saw when you googled “Farmer”

For me it has always been easy to see; farmers are cultivators of life, they feed the world, are true stewards of the land and perhaps have the most important job out there. But they are constantly combatting this ‘farmer misconception’, and that must be changed. I want all young people like me to have the confidence to say with pride that she wants to be a farmer and to feel they have made a valued choice. For her to have the opportunities to cultivate that spark of interest into something amazing.

Farming is unlimited opportunities to marvel at nature; to experience wholeheartedly the joys each new season brings. To be at the mercy of the weather but still have profound faith. To pray for rain and then dance when it’s bucketing down.

My dream is to be a regenerative, ethical, diverse and pasture-raised farmer and to inspire others to peruse this profound career .

And here is a fact: we need farmers and we need people who support farmers to do what they do.

Too often we are reminded that the average age of a farmer is almost 60. For me I see a whole generation of innovative youth excited to take part in the progression towards a sustainable and regenerative agricultural career.

Watch Renae’s beautiful bitter sweet Heywire story here