Spain: The pig sector offers opportunities for women and young people
In the webinar, Cristina Marí, from the Sustainability and Coordination department of the REDaPORC Operational Group at INTERPORC, framed the topic by noting that "women and young people are of great current and future importance in the pig sector. As an example, 65,000 women currently work in the pig sector, which represents 42% of direct employment".
Far from images of the past, the current white coat pig is a modern and highly advanced sector that draws on highly qualified professionals in cutting-edge technologies and senior management, as well as more traditional positions such as veterinarians, agronomists, operators to work with animals. In short, it creates employment in all phases of the production chain and for all kinds of professional qualifications.
Margarita Rico, PhD in Economic and Business Sciences and professor at the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Valladolid stated that "the presence of women and young people is essential for the pig sector and, in fact, many lead livestock farms".
In addition, Rico gave another important piece of information. "Women hold 39% of employment in the primary pork sector, 46% of employment in cooperatives and integrating companies, and 47.5% of employment in processing companies. That is to say, it is close to parity, something that does not happen in other activities of the primary sector".
In this sense, Neus Serentill, farmer at the Terraplé Farm, pointed out that "many women find barriers that we must break down, but fortunately the presence of women at fairs and events in the pig sector is increasingly abundant".
To further increase these figures, Sonia Bel, a veterinarian in the production department of the Caspe Livestock Cooperative, pointed out "the importance of implementing equality plans in companies. We must not forget that talent is talent and companies can collaborate with universities to detect and train it. We have to bet on people and be equal".
Carlos Baeza, veterinarian and pig and poultry farmer, also pointed to the need to show the true image of the sector. "What attracts young people is working in advanced technological environments, and pigs perfectly meet that condition. But we must better sell what we do. Working today in a company or on a pig farm means doing it in a highly technical environment, and we must continue to bet on incorporating the latest advances. That is the way to attract young talent".
An idea influenced by Aimara Luengo, manager of one of the Innoporc production centers, who confirmed that the image of the pork sector from the outside "is not the real one. Inside we see that there are highly trained and prepared people, but we have to make that much more visible, because it is what will really present us as an attractive sector".
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