Across many Indigenous cultures, women were custodians of seed, farming and food. Today, in Scotland, just 8% of women in agriculture are owners or managers of farms.
“You’re wrestling with the title of Farmer’s Wife. There’s not many industries where you’re so quickly demoted and it’s so constant.”
– Sophie Gerrard, Photographer
However, some incredible examples of equality are emerging, inspiring a shift in Scottish farming. Owing to such initiatives, more women than men now attend agricultural colleges.
Speaking with contributors to our Scottish We Feed The UK story, we explored the relationship between people, food, and seed. Brimming with insightful knowledge and warm anecdotes, this conversation highlighted the power of food production in shaping a fairer future.
“We work with cattle as ecosystem engineers; working with them to improve the landscape. This allows us to contribute to the wider land management aims of the landscape around us while producing food in a culturally relevant way.”
Nikki Yoxall
In the Scottish Highlands, Nikki Yoxall is what she terms a “landless, first generation, new entry farmer”.
She runs Grampian Graziers, a project that embraces other beings’ abilities to revive the species-rich grassland in decline across Scotland.
“With Lauriston Farm, we wanted to grow as much food as we could but also, especially because we are urban, we wanted as many people as possible to understand and reconnect with where their food comes from. That means getting people on site growing the food, getting people eating the food, and making it all as accessible as possible. Right from the beginning, the community felt a sense of ownership of the project and that has only continued and only grown.”
Lisa Houston
Lisa Houston, who is part of a majority-women workers’ cooperative, helps run Lauriston Farm. Through drawing on the power of local people, Lisa is working to restore this 100-acre urban growing site in Edinburgh.
The farm is not only restoring nature and getting more women and urban dwellers in general involved in agriculture, but it is also reconnecting people with food and with their cultures. Veg box schemes and celebrations of cultural food are bringing people together in a shared appreciation of seed.
The Great Granton Gourd Celebration saw people from different cultures and backgrounds sharing traditional dishes and customs relating to the Granton Gourd; a vegetable that grows excellently in the Scottish climate.
“Up until a few generations ago everyone who grew food, saved seed. It was part of growing, it was part of farming. Different localities had regionally adapted seed and farmers would share the seed with each other.”
Sinéad Fortune
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Sinéad Fortune, Scotland Coordinator for the Seed Sovereignty Programme, shared her valuable insights on the role of seed in regenerative, future-focused farming.
“Our growing conditions are becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable. We need adaptation, we need diversity: that’s where our resilience comes from. This is so vitally important and it affects everybody.”
In the UK, we have lost 75% of our plant genetic diversity since 1900. With this loss in diversity comes a downfall in resilience. We lose characteristics such as resistance to flooding, drought, and disease, as well as flavours and nutritional value. The Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty programme is working to rebuild diversity in our food system, starting at its heart: the seed.
Locally produced, open pollinated seeds are more genetically diverse than hybrid seeds, and therefore able to adapt to their growing conditions. Each time the seed is harvested, saved, shared, and replanted it will be better suited to its ecosystem. In this way, seeds co-evolved with humans over thousands of years. It was only recently, when petrochemical companies began gaining rights over seeds and patenting hybrid varieties, that this practice was lost.
Open pollination
Open pollinated seeds are those whose flowers are fertilized naturally, by the wind, bees, moths, birds, and others.
This open pollination produces seeds that form the same plant each following year.
Unlike open pollinated seeds, hybrid seeds will not reproduce the same plant if harvested and replanted.
“Seeds and plants teach us to share. If you’re a grower, you’ll know that if a crop goes to seed, you’ll have more seeds than you could ever use yourself.”
– Sinéad, Scotland Coordinator for the Seed Sovereignty Programme
It is truly exciting to hear the Seed Sovereignty Programme, Grampian Graziers and Lauriston Farm working for a future of farming built on reciprocity and kindness. Hear more from the incredible women involved in our Scottish story by watching the full Regenerative Conversations video above.
Learn, share, and join the movement as we push for more women in agriculture alongside a shift towards just, regenerative farming. Explore the growing number of seed libraries, seed banks, and community gardens working with seed near you.
