North Macedonia marks International Day of Rural Women in Strumica

On 15 October the National Federation of Farmers held an event in Strumica to mark the International Day of Rural Women under the slogan "Women farmers — leaders of sustainable agriculture and rural development." Farmers from across the country attended and the gathering was opened by Borche Serafimovski, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy.

Serafimovski drew on figures from the Ministry’s Single Register of Agricultural Holdings, saying there are 129,226 registered farms and 29,971 registered women farmers, of whom 3,918 are younger than 40. He stressed the government's commitment to increasing women’s participation in farm management, supporting women to start their own activities and breaking the stereotype of farming as a "male profession."

The minister also announced new financing opportunities tied to the rural development programme for 2026. "I want to inform that, ahead of this day, on 13 October a call for Measure 115 was published — support for an active female member in the agricultural household from the Financial Support Programme for Rural Development for 2026. A sum of 360,000 denars per beneficiary is envisaged for equipment for processing and finishing primary agricultural products and for implementing the business plan. According to the call conditions, registered holdings whose owner or member is a woman can apply. The application deadline is 13 November," Serafimovski said.

Social protection and maternity support

He added that the measures strengthen social protection for women farmers, and that a budget rebalance increased the funds for women engaged in agricultural activity from one million to 2.5 million denars. "The programme foresees a total of 100,000 denars per beneficiary for a nine‑month maternity allowance for women with the status of insured individual farmer who meet the conditions. Applications are submitted to the Agency for Financial Support no later than 10 December," Serafimovski underlined.

Stevanche Jordanoski, president of the National Federation of Farmers (NFF), emphasised the value of rural women’s work and called for additional practical training and market access alongside state support. "As NFF we note that the woman farmer is still not sufficiently recognized and her work is still not sufficiently paid. Measure 115, which the minister mentioned here, we welcome, because it is important for the development of our women farmers, for agricultural holdings and certainly for the development of rural areas. Besides these state financial supports, it is important to have other practical trainings for women farmers, new knowledge and access to markets so they can strengthen economically and develop their businesses," Jordanoski said.

Speakers at the event included Rita Columbina, the UN Resident Coordinator in the country; Lolo Darin, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden; Kristina Mitic Arsova, national programme coordinator and project manager at FAO; and Sasho Angelovski, national manager for We Effect in Europe. A panel discussion titled "From resources to results: How to ensure equal access to knowledge and innovation for women farmers" followed, awards were presented to four successful women farmers and to one local civic organisation for their contribution to strengthening rural women.

Individual farmers also spoke about market challenges. Trajanka Zlatkovikj from the village of Pepelishthe, Negotino municipality, said persistent work is required to make farming viable and to access funds: "With perseverance and hard work one can make a living from agriculture, but women must also be persistent to be able to use the funds. I produce watermelon, tomatoes, eggplant, tobacco, pumpkins, walnuts. The year was difficult at the start, especially regarding markets, but now it is good," she said.

Photo: press material from the event