- Farmer Katarzyna Malicka, from near Olsztyn, was recognized in Rome by the FAO as one of the 100 most influential women in agriculture worldwide
- The ceremony at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was held on World Rural Women's Day, and the title was awarded for the first time
- The award recipient runs a 370-hectare farm with organic production and around 1300 sheep, and also promotes lamb and works with schools and a university
The ceremony at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, attended by delegations from several dozen countries, was held on World Rural Women’s Day. This title was awarded for the first time.
Aleksander Iwanicki, Poland’s representative to the United Nations organizations in Rome, attended the ceremony.
Katarzyna Malicka runs a farm with her husband, Daniel, in the village of Komalwy, in the Świątki municipality, Olsztyn County. The farm covers 370 hectares, half of the crops are grown organically; there are about 1300 sheep.
Malicka’s activities also include promoting the consumption of lamb, education, and cooperation with schools, the University of Warmia and Mazury, and the Agricultural Advisory Centre.
Asked whether she feels like a heroine, as all one hundred women from more than 90 countries around the world were called, Malicka said: “Yes, I feel like a heroine. Every day you have to overcome adversity, and it is difficult for a woman in this male-dominated agricultural world to overcome even physical challenges.”
“I am proud of this distinction, and I am moved that women are beginning to be appreciated. Women move mountains all over the world. This shows women’s determination,” the award recipient added.
“My greatest strength is my perseverance in pursuing the goal of maintaining lamb production and processing,” she noted.
Katarzyna Malicka noted that she received this distinction in the Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, proclaimed by the UN, and in the International Year of Women Farmers.
