Original version

BBC World Service News Internet

The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

The Conversation: Women growing grain

Magazines & Reviews

Women growing grain

22/08/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Women growing grain

Arable farmers from Australia and the UK on the joys and pressures of a farming life.

Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women farmers from Australia and the UK about their love for the land, the responsibility of running a family farm and how they deal with the pressure.

Most of us rely on farmers to produce our food and rising costs for farmers are leading to spiralling food prices. It's in part down to huge increases in the cost of fuel and fertiliser, shortages of labour and the pressures of a changing climate. Kim Chakanetsa talks to two women farmers from Australia and the UK about their love for the land, the responsibility of running a family farm and how they deal with the pressure.

Katrina Sasse is an Australian cereal farmer and 2017 Nuffield Australia Scholar. She works on her large family farm and has a smaller bit of land herself. She questioned why, when addressing the shortage of farmers, nothing was focused on the capacity of farm daughters to become farmers. As part of her Nuffield research she travelled the world to interview farmers about the structural and cultural issues within agriculture that need to change for the gender gap to close.

Sarah Bell manages her family’s mixed arable farm in the English Midlands along with her husband and parents. Unusually she’s the one who’s running the family farm despite having a brother – but he didn’t want to go into farming. She also runs a consultancy business to agricultural food industry businesses and other farmers two days a week to supplement the farm income. She jokes there are more men called Mark on boards in the grain trade than there are women. Her key principle is ‘farm profitably and tread lightly’.

Produced by Jane Thurlow

(Image: (L) Katrina Sasse, credit: Kim Storey. (R) Sarah Bell, credit: Sonara Studios Oakham Rutland.)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Conversation

Women growing grain

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service News Internet

About BBC World Service