10/09/2026
The project promotes the participation of rural women and young people through training, exchange and dialogue on the future of the livestock sector.
Through the Project to Strengthen Sustainable Livestock Farming, FIAP and the European Union are supporting Uruguay in boosting the participation of younger generations and incorporating a gender perspective – both essential elements for moving towards a more resilient and inclusive livestock sector.
The Uruguayan livestock sector faces significant challenges relating to environmental and social sustainability, notably climate change and generational renewal. Against this backdrop, the Ministries of the Environment, Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries – as well as the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation – are coordinating their efforts to promote opportunities for participation and exchange aimed at young people and women in rural areas.
The active involvement of women is essential for identifying barriers linked to gender stereotypes, as well as opportunities and concrete actions that will enable progress towards a more equitable sector. Through the project, the gender perspective is incorporated as a cross-cutting element in its various initiatives, alongside activities aimed at women livestock farmers and rural women who seek to strengthen both their participation and their capacity to influence the sector’s transformation processes.
Against this backdrop, the course ‘Promoting
autonomy for sustainability’ has been organised, comprising three face-to-face sessions; the first of which took place on 3 and 4 September in Salto, Uruguay. This initiative is aimed at women livestock farmers and seeks to encourage reflection on, and ownership of, concepts linked to economic and physical autonomy and decision-making, connecting them with the everyday experiences of women livestock farmers from different regions of the country.
This work is complemented by support for the integration of gender, environmental and climate change considerations into agricultural policies and national planning instruments, thereby reinforcing the effective incorporation of this perspective into the sector’s public policies.
The transition towards more sustainable livestock farming also
requires the involvement of the younger generations, not only as the sector’s future leaders, but as active agents of its transformation. In this regard, the livestock sector offers a particularly significant platform for fostering young people’s participation and leadership, incorporating their perspectives and proposals into the processes of change facing rural communities.
Against this backdrop, the Livestock Sector Youth Meeting was organised on 28 August in Minas, as part of Rural Youth Day. It brought together young producers, students, technical staff and rural organisations from Uruguay and other countries in the region to share experiences and address challenges such as generational succession and climate change from a gender perspective.
The meeting provided a first-hand insight into the main
needs and proposals for the future of rural areas as expressed by young people. This participation is in line with the process of drawing up the 2025–2030 Youth Action Plan, which incorporates contributions from young people across different regions to guide public policy.
As part of the EUROCLIMA Programme, the Project to Strengthen Sustainable Livestock Farming in Uruguay supports the country in its efforts to place rural women and young people at the heart of the transformation of the livestock sector. Their participation and leadership enable their perspectives, experiences and proposals to be incorporated into the processes of change facing rural communities and to move towards a more resilient, equitable and sustainable livestock sector.
