Eunice Tavares, organic livestock producer, Miranda breed donkey breeder and leader of AGRITAD – Vila Real

Eunice Tavares, 32 year-old, was born in the city of Lamego and currently lives in Vila Real, where she started farming during her university studies. With no previous farming experience, she started in 2011, renting land and acquiring donkeys of the Miranda breed, which were essential to her learning: “they taught us everything we know today.”

Her attachment to the donkeys became emotional, making it difficult to sell the calves: “I get chills when I talk about the donkeys, it’s like family”. Today, they organise free visits to the farm to sensitise children and adults to the value of these animals. Over time, they expanded their activity and became producers of certified organic Maronesa beef, a native breed. The farm currently has around 50 head of cattle that they sell to the local co-operative specialised in this breed.

In 2016, she co-founded AGRITAD, a local farmers’ association, which is member of the largest peasant confederation CNA, which has allowed her to combine farming with association work, promoting and defending farmers’ interests. She emphasises the importance of fighting for the rights of small farmers, stressing that “when you’re a farmer, it’s easier to fight for things, because you feel it.”

As a woman in agriculture, Eunice faces challenges, from the devaluation of her physical ability – “how can you work in agriculture?” – to the constant need to assert herself in a sector dominated by men. “We’re not valued at all and what I feel is that we always lag behind the male figure,” she says.

She also criticises the social stigma associated with the image of a farmer. She is often questioned about her groomed appearance and manicured nails, as if they were incompatible with working in the fields. For Eunice, this view is wrong: “it’s not because we’re farmers that we don’t deserve this.” She emphasises that farmers have the right to take care of themselves and to live a dignified life, without being judged on their appearance or their possessions: “a farmer is a person like any other, who deserves to be taken care of.”

Eunice emphasises the fundamental role of women in agriculture in the north of Portugal, saying that they have always played a leading role, often heading up large farms. “Maybe 90 per cent or more of farms were and probably still are run by women,” she says. Despite the fact that they are the main managers of the farms, the majority of applications and support fall to men. Many women farmers don’t have social security or labour insurance, which leaves them unprotected. Through the support they receive from the association, “we’ve already managed to change some things, but it’s difficult, it’s not easy work,” she recognises.

Eunice encourages women’s self-worth and visibility. “If we don’t stand up for ourselves, we end up in the shadows and that’s what we shouldn’t do at all […]. Sometimes we have to lose our humility a little,” she says, calling on women farmers to show themselves and claim their space, to unite, express themselves and gain a voice.

Although she recognises that the associative movement has included more women in recent years, she believes that the presence of women is still lower than necessary. “Sometimes they invite us just to be there or because it’s obligatory, but we’re women and when we’re there, we’re there, so we have to be heard and we have to give our opinion,” she says.

In terms of production methods, they follow sustainable practices, without using herbicides or insecticides, and use Portuguese and traditional varieties. “If we have a way of being able to produce using more natural products, it doesn’t make sense for us to use other things.” Despite being certified organic, Eunice notes that this doesn’t differentiate them on the market. However, they maintain sustainable practices as a matter of principle, even if this means lower profitability. “Basically, I think this is also a question of conscience and what we are also giving to others,” she reflects.

Eunice criticises the relationship between farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, claiming that the policies are completely out of step with the reality of farming in Portugal, especially in the interior and in the north: “The gentlemen who are up there in the Ministries […] are completely oblivious to the agriculture that is practised.” She emphasises that, despite the existence of financial support, the associated rules make it impossible for the majority of farmers to access it: “The millions that are talked about so much […] only go to the big ones”.

She expresses frustration at the excessive bureaucracy, saying that the measures imposed encourage the abandonment of rural areas and emigration. Eunice mentions the devastating impact of fires and how agricultural activity could help prevent them, exemplifying the fires of 2024 in Castro Daire, which were only contained where there was agriculture and pastoralism.

Regarding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Eunice believes that the new version has been detrimental to small farmers, especially young people. She says that despite promises of more support, the reality is that the demands make it impossible to access the available funds. She reports that many young people give up farming due to the lack of incentives and adequate support: “We had a lot of young farmers wanting to go down the road of farming […], now they say ‘no’.”

She also criticises the digitisation imposed by the government, considering it unrealistic due to the lack of internet access in many rural areas and the difficulty older farmers face with these technologies.

Another major problem mentioned by Eunice is the impact of wild animals, such as wolves and boars, which destroy crops and decimate herds. She reports cases of daytime wolf attacks and finds the lack of action by the responsible authorities unacceptable, accusing the environmental authority in charge of transferring responsibility to farmers’ associations without providing any real solutions.

Finally, Eunice appealed to the government to listen to the associations and small farmers and change policies in order to allow agriculture in the interior and the north to survive, which is also “traditions, customs, a heritage that is being lost”. According to her, “it would be good if 2025 brought us this change and let us see a little light at the end of the tunnel”, as the last few years have been marked by uncertainty and a lack of hope for farmers.

Eunice also points out differences in the way farmers are valued in Portugal compared to other countries like Switzerland and France, where there is more support for the stability of rural families. She criticises the fact that professionals from other areas are encouraged to move to the countryside, while those who already live there are forgotten, saying that real support is not just about money, but about providing essential services such as education, transport and health.

In her view, being a farmer is a constant struggle against various obstacles, from legislation, taxes and bad weather to the social prejudice that diminishes the profession and, more recently, criminalises it as being responsible for environmental problems or fires. For her, farmers must demand that their profession be recognised, that they be proud to be farmers and fight the idea that they are “subsidy-dependent”, because they play an essential role in society and what they receive is support, not subsidies, because “agriculture is an activity that everyone knows is not very profitable or is quite painful” and “we are also the ones who put food on people’s tables, without us there is nothing.”