This year the Association of Country Women of Slovenia is celebrating its 20th anniversary. At the occasion of the International Agriculture and Food Fair in Gornja Radgona, MMC had a chat with the president of the Association. She has been the head of the organisation for the last ten years, and helped already at the beginning, at breaking new ground.
Today the organisation has approximately 6,500 members. The number in the past reached even 10,000, but it is getting smaller with time, as the rural area is shrinking, and the farms are being abandoned. The Association includes approximately 80 societies; some of those are more active and have up to 300 members, while some are less active and count only ten members. Although younger members are joining the association, the average age is still approximately 50, and even more in some parts of the country.
Ule said that nowadays the young are different. In the past they used to meet, talk and help each other with advices. Now they have other interests, most of the young are individualist, there is less cooperation, and the neighbour is now considered a rival.
The purpose of the event Country women of the year the Association introduced was to stress the importance of women in rural areas. They always nominate candidates who are active not only at their home farm, but are also acting for the good of a wider community. They see the event as another way to promote the countryside, as according to Ule, the Slovenian farmer is not appreciated enough. The Slovenians are not fully aware of the quality of our food, be it ecologically or normally grown.
And what is the advice of the president of the umbrella association of the Slovenian farm women to the young considering farming as their profession, and perhaps still hesitate? Farm life can be hard, but also very beautiful. Above all it demands persistence which is always rewarded, Ule explains. She can see future in farming for some, but in order to succeed you need knowledge. She knows you can’t make a living with one cow and one pig on the farm. You need to define your goals, especially if you intend to compete at the market, and establish yourself there. The young on the farm must learn to distribute their time, and to separate farm work from their spare time – and many farmers don’t know how to do that.