Women managed just 6.5 per cent of Cyprus’ utilised agricultural area in 2023, well below the EU average of 17.5 per cent, according to figures published by Eurostat on Thursday.

The figures place Cyprus among the lower-ranking EU countries in terms of the proportion of agricultural land managed by women.

The lowest share was recorded in the Dutch region of Friesland, where women managed just 2.7 per cent of utilised agricultural land, equivalent to around 6,000 hectares.

At the other end of the scale, Upper Austria recorded the highest share, at 42.5 per cent, corresponding to approximately 211,600 hectares managed by women.

Across the EU, 55.6 per cent of the 241 regions examined recorded shares below the European average.

The data cover regions classified under level two of the EU’s Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2), which is used to compare regional statistics across member states.

Only 25 regions recorded a share of at least 28.5 per cent, with the highest concentrations found in Italy, which accounted for 11 regions, followed by Greece and Austria with four each, and Spain with three.

At the lower end of the distribution, 12 EU regions recorded shares below 5 per cent. These included ten of the Netherlands’ 12 regions, Åland in Finland at 3.6 per cent and Southern Denmark at 4.9 per cent.

According to Eurostat, agricultural holdings managed by women tend to be relatively small, although generational renewal could gradually increase their participation in larger, more commercially oriented farming operations.

In Cyprus, female farmers continue to face challenges relating to gender equality, childcare and rural living conditions.

A closer look at the experiences of women working in agriculture in Cyprus can be found in the Cyprus Mail feature, Where are Cyprus’ female farmers?.