Female Entrepreneurs in Agriculture: the Case of Trentino (Italy)
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Female entrepreneurs in agriculture: the case of trentino (Italy) Claudia Marchesoni Abstract - This paper concerns the female entrepre- Qualitative data are collected in the South-West of neurship in agriculture in the province of Trento in Trentino, in the areas of Gresta Valley and Valla- Italy. Collected qualitative data reveal the weakness garina trough in-depth and biographical interviews of female activities in agricultural sector. with different social actors. In particular, interviews The quantitative data show a clear gender gap in were carried out with 3 female entrepreneurs, 3 Trentino, in particular in the most lucrative context. female collaborators in family-run business and with For a comprehensive analysis of female entrepreneur- ship it is necessary to investigate in the mechanisms the director of the local farm bureau. Main tackled of family firms, as important part in local economy. issues were: 1. Motivation and reasons conducting Female tasks are often “marginalised” and considered actors to get involved in agricultural business or, on only as an “assistance” work, not worthy of being the contrary, to give up; 2. Elements about the for- considered as the same as male work. mal and fiscal condition of women in family run busi- This topic is connected with the complex issue of the ness, concerning inheritance process and firm acqui- inheritance process, still based on a patrilinear model. sition; 3. Information about alternative farm enter- For this reason, in the primary sector, firms are often prises with successful and hamper elements. organised as “family firm”, economically encouraged, hampering the guarantee of social economic rights at RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH the family collaborators, often women. In spite of this situation women developed peculiar The quantitative data show that the presence of strategies to gain their position in agriculture.1 women is strongly restrained especially in the most 1 valuable and lucrative areas. The Provincial Rural INTRODUCTION Enterprise Register recorded, at the end of 2006, This paper will discuss the question relating at the 1.244 women entrepreneurs, 13,8% of the total. presence of women in agricultural sector. Research It is possible to observe the data in the following has often shown how women are traditionally ex- table: cluded from the ownership and the conduction of a firm (Yanagisako, 2002; Bassoli e Caldaro, 2003). Table 1. Comparison between the percentage of female This fact is particularly evident in agricultural sector, entrepreneurs (f) and the farm tractors/small-hoe-tractors where the central element, the land property, is ratio (Tt). crossed both by economical and cultural reasons. District %f * %Tt** In this context, women are still marginalized and not Valle di Fiemme 22,4 % 1.02 encouraged to become an active actor in agriculture. Primiero 33,0 % 0.57 Related problems to their position are: possession of Bassa Valsugana e Tesino 27,0 % 0.75 crops; inheritance of patrimony; juridical status in Alta Valsugana 23,0 % 1.04 familiar firms. Valle dell’Adige 12,5 % 1.80 Even though these disadvantages, over the last Valle di Non 9,8 % 1.82 years women gained more importance in agriculture, Valle di Sole 29,8 % 1.04 in particular in alternative farm enterprises. Giudicarie 22,4 % 1.10 Agricultural business offer them numerous benefits, Alto Garda e Ledro 6,8 % 1.06 as the organisation of a part-time job and flexibility. Vallagarina 7,7 % 1.60 In order to establish an own agricultural firm, Valle di Fassa 15,8 % 0.80 women have developed different paths, as multi- Trentino 13,8 % 1.44 functional activities, cultivation of niche products * Data from APIA (Provincial Rural Enterprise Register) at and different ways of marketing. 31.12.2006. ** Data from the Statistical Service of Province of Trento from the Census 2000. METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION The first column show the percentage of female en- Quantitative data have been collected in the Prov- trepreneurs, where the lowest one are located in ince of Trentino (Italy), thanks to the statistical of- Vallagarina and Alto Garda e Ledro and Valle di Non. fice of the Province of Trento and the APIA (Provin- In other areas, as the mountainous area of Primiero, cial Rural Enterprise Register). Bassa Valsugana e Tesino and Valle di Sole the rate of female entrepreneurs is visibly higher. 1Claudia Marchesoni is research collaborator at E. Mach Foundation / Agricultural Insitut S.Michele – Research Center ([email protected]). The farm tractors/small-hoe-tractors ratio is an use- is also due to the current firm organisation, con- ful indicator for obtaining the degree of mechanisa- nected with the value of an integral property. tion, where the higher value indicates a capital in- Even though the number of farm businesses run tensive farming. by women is rising, currently only one enterprise in The data show the most visible lack of female entre- six in Trentino is managed by a woman owner and preneurs in those areas characterized by one-crop the majority are small or family-run. strategy and by valuable cultivations, as vineyards In spite of this difficulties, we collected numerous and apple growing. Therefore, where the agricultural experiences of women who decided to get involved business is more lucrative, women are often ex- in agriculture. They revealed that it is necessary to cluded. Connected with this issue, is the question of have more attention for the new instances and com- the family-run business, causing disadvantages for petences required in the global market. In that women and a lack of flexibility, as other authors sense, women are gaining many competence in en- noticed (Papa, 1999; Yanagisako, 2002). Qualitative terprises strategy, commercialization and valorisa- interviews allowed the comprehension of these tion of their territory, in the line with the current quantitative data. need of territorial marketing. The familiar model is also influencing the inheri- This research testify how women, excluded from the tance process, where sons are often preferred to most lucrative cultivations are taking the opportunity daughters for the continuity of the firm. offered in new activity, as minor cultivations, multi- The traditional cultural pattern have encouraged functional activity and different way of distribution. those children who had to maintain a new familiar group, i.e. married sons (Cole and Wolf, 1974) and ACKNOWLEDGEMENT this tendency is still going on. The Author would like to acknowledge the Associa- In that way, the cultural background of the par- tion Excursus for the seed grant under this research ents conduces them to give the control of the firm to was conducted and Mr. Giorgio De Ros from E. Mach the sons. The structure of agricultural firms is pre- Foundation / Agricultural Institut S. Michele A/A – dominantly still organized as a “family firm”, charac- Research Center in reviewing manuscript and provid- terized by fiscal regime, granting tax breaks for fa- ing helpful comments. miliar collaborators. This organisation is surely an important tool to REFERENCES encourage agricultural firms, but it shows to be in- Bassoli, M. und Caldaro, M. (2003). Essere adequate for the contemporary needs of rights re- imprenditrici. Fenomenologia di storie femminili quirements. In fact, familiar collaborators, often d'impresa, Franco Angeli, Milano. women, do not appear as employed, but as an “aid” for the firm. The firm is not legally required to pay Cole, J. und Wolf, E. (1974). The Hidden Frontier , the salary and even welfare contribution to familiar Berkley University Press. collaborators (even though these latest are paid in Marchesoni, C. und Gretter, A. (2007). The other the most of the cases). driving force of economy, Centro di Ecologia Alpina, The lack of legal recognition also determines their Trento. salary levels. Many, especially if they work in family- Saraceno, E. (2005). “Rural Development policies run business, are not paid at all for what they do, and the Second Pillar of the Common Agricultural which is regarded as part of the family income. Over the last years, women's interest in agricul- Policy: the way ahead” in Assessing rural develop- ment policies of the Common Agricultural Policy, ture has increased, particularly in niche sectors as edited by Ortner, K.M., Wissenschaftsverlag Vauk organic farming, traditional and processed products, supporting themselves to shorten production chains Kiel, pp.25-47. and alternative marketing systems as CPS, Collec- Papa, C. (1999). Antropologia dell'impresa, Guerini tive Purchasing Schemes. Numerous woman started Scientifica, Milano. from scratch and became operators of small farm Yanagisako, S. (2002). Producing Culture and enterprises, buying small plots of land. Female firms Capital. Family Firms in Italy, Princeton University are often oriented to the multifunctionality, which is Press. also considered for the EU policy an important strat- egy for the development of rural areas (Saraceno, Servizio Statistica Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 2005). (2004). Dati censuari e agricoltura professionale in Trentino, Trento. CONCLUSION As it is shown in the results, it appears which diffi- culties women have in the contemporary agriculture. One of the most important problem is connected with the value of the property, hampering the intro- duction of new social actors in the firm, as women. The resistance at the innovation of agricultural firms .