Good Practice - Project
Digital farm succession for gender-equal entrepreneurship
Promoting more sustainable farm successions for all parties through knowledge sharing.
General information
RDP Priority
- P1. Knowledge transfer and innovation
RDP Focus Area
- 2A: Farm’s performance, restructuring & modernisation
RDP Measure
- M01: Knowledge transfer & information actions
Beneficiary type
- Business
Summary
The project offered farmers and their family members and partners a digital development programme on farm succession, called ‘Skifta Rikt’ (‘Change direction’). It included lectures on social and economic aspects, workshops and peer-to-peer exchanges. Between sessions, participants worked on individual and family-based assignments to advance their own succession processes. Many highlighted this as the key support they needed to move forward in their discussions and decisions.
A major insight was recognising their different roles through the ‘Four Role Model’ – owning, managing, living on the farm, and maintaining relationships – as separate, each involving different choices that could help unlock fixed positions and enable progress. Participants valued discussing with others in similar situations, especially since they were from different regions. This distance made it easier to open up, leading to more honest and transparent conversations that accelerated the succession process.
Another key success factor was collaboration with senior agricultural managers at major Swedish banks. Initially reluctant to engage in family ownership issues, banks now take an active role and share strategies with clients and one another to promote gender-equal ownership. This marks a significant shift in both attitudes and practices within the banking sector.
Results
- 181 participants from 50 farms took part in five rounds of the programme, average of 42.5% women.
- 50 farm businesses gained new knowledge about farm succession.
- 40% of those who participated in one year of facilitated succession planning completed their farm transfer.
- Digital format for training sessions introduced, saving time, travel and money.
- Project founded and managed by two women, who also shared their extensive knowledge and coached participants.
- 99% of the participants rated programme very good (67.75%) or good (31.25%).
- 99.25% would recommend it to others.
- 90.5% felt the programme helped their personal/professional development.
- Follow-up session in November 2024 had 100% satisfied attendees.
Promoter
UTSIKT Affärsutveckling i Skövde AB
Funding
Total budget: EUR 180 078
EAFRD: EUR 90 039
National/Regional: EUR 90 039
Context
There is widespread recognition of the need for farm succession due to the high average age in agriculture, with 52% of Swedish farmers aged 60 or older. However, few people realise that the solution may be close at hand. Data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture shows that more women are starting agricultural businesses in Sweden – and at a younger age – than men.
The Board’s ‘Skörda Lika’ (‘Harvest equally’) report, along with other research, shows that gender equality is a key factor in addressing this challenge. Equality boosts profitability and innovation, diverse perspectives lead to stronger development, and ownership brings power – both legally and economically. The ability to shape one’s own and one’s shared future must be equally distributed between women and men, and a more equal distribution of power also strengthens innovation across society.
Objectives
The primary objective of the project was to promote more sustainable farm successions over time for both the transferor and other stakeholders through knowledge sharing, while raising awareness of the benefits of gender equality in agriculture.
The aim was to achieve this by delivering a digital training programme on gender-equal farm succession with at least 160 participants, containing seven digital training modules with accompanying study materials. It was hoped that the project would reach an additional 1 600 people beyond course participants via an educational programme on building gender-equal businesses. The team also intended to generate at least five published articles, opinion pieces and/or editorials.
Activities
The team’s main task was to produce a digital training programme on gender-equal farm succession, consisting of seven digital training modules with accompanying study materials. The sessions included:
- An external analysis presented by the chairs of the Federation of Swedish Farmers and their youth organisation.
- Insights from the ‘Skörda Lika’ survey and statistics on gender equality trends in Sweden, with a lecture from the Federation of Swedish Farmers’ Gender Equality Academy.
- A walk-through of the programme and the four roles.
- The legal aspects of succession planning, and tools for economic gender equality, focusing on family law.
- A joint session with representatives from Sweden’s largest banks, where participants submitted questions in advance, and the banks responded on how they work to promote gender equality in farm ownership and management.
The programme was characterised by cross-sectoral expert involvement, with professionals from law, finance, communication and business development brought in to support participants with a holistic perspective. It also created peer-to-peer learning networks formed by the participants, to continue sharing experiences and support, and encouraged whole-family participation, fostering internal collaboration, honest conversations and shared understanding across generations.
The team also had to market the programme and the results, in collaboration with the partners involved. Advertising was placed on social media, and informational webinars were held.
Between sessions, participants worked on individual and family/business assignments. Attendance was very high, with many sessions having 100% participation, and families dedicated time between sessions to complete the tasks. The more time they spent on their own work, the further they progressed in their succession planning.
A follow-up session was held in November 2024 for interested participants who had completed the programme. Here, the families had the possibility to evaluate their own process, get new insights and tools, set fresh goals and have a coaching session with a lawyer and a business coach.
Films documenting the project were produced to gather insights from those who were either about to begin or had already completed their farm succession with the programme. Results were also shared, for example, via a four-page article in ‘Land Lantbruk’ (Sweden’s biggest journal and website on agriculture) in May 2025. Several social media articles were also published.
Gender equality
The project was founded and managed by two women, who also shared their deep knowledge and coached the participants. Erika Ekesbo Andrén and Sara Hjalmarsdotter Gund have both worked closely with the green sector for a long time, and have backgrounds in business, economics, social psychology, leadership, communication, law and gender equality.
76 women participated in the project – a relatively large proportion of women (42.5%) compared with current levels of ownership and management in Swedish agriculture (19%). During the various meetings, there were discussions highlighting gender inequality and how more women can become owners and managers. The project placed special focus on involving young women, as data from the Swedish Board of Agriculture shows that more women are starting agricultural businesses in Sweden – and at a younger age – than men.
Nine companies (out of 23) that participated in one year of facilitated succession planning have completed their farm transfer, and four of these were taken over by at least one woman.
Generational Renewal
55% of the people who participated in the programme were under 40, as young people eager to take over a farm were at the heart of this project. It supported them in developing a business plan reflecting their own vision and values, while outlining a sustainable and profitable path for their farm’s future. It increased young people's knowledge of key aspects of farm successions, such as economics and legal matters, enabling them to understand and participate in decision-making around the ownership transition and the business, while strengthening their ability to engage in difficult conversations with the older generation or the current owner, as well as offering support throughout the succession process. The project also helped to expand young people’s networks by connecting them with other young successors, farmers, advisors and banks.
Several members of the younger generation appreciated the digital format and the screen as a positive ‘filter’, making it easier to express difficult thoughts to their parents. This, in turn, helped speed up the succession process by enabling more honest and transparent conversations.
Main Results
In total, 181 participants from 50 farms have taken part in five rounds of the programme, with an average of 42.5% women. A total of 50 farm businesses have gained new knowledge about farm succession. 40% of those who participated in one year of facilitated succession planning (i.e. 9 companies out of 23) completed their farm transfer, and four of those nine companies were taken over by at least one woman.
The digital format of the programme saves time, travel and money. There are also lower costs for conducting training sessions via digital meetings compared with physical ones, while less travel results in a positive impact on the environment.
The programme proved to be very popular with participants. 99% rated it as very good (67.75%) or good (31.25%), while 99.25% would recommend it to others. 90.5% of participants also felt that they developed personally and professionally during the programme. The follow-up session held in November 2024 had 100% satisfied attendees.
Many participants saw it as an advantage that they were able to discuss the topic of succession digitally, and the format also made participation both scalable and accessible – while families may be spread out across different countries or cities, everyone was able to gather. It also fostered cross-generational dialogue, encouraging open and honest conversations about ownership transitions, even across geographic distances. Families said that the possibility of having coaching – both as a family and individually – helped them with further steps.
Key lessons
The project addresses a common European challenge related to generational transitions in rural areas. As such, it was crucial for it to have a transferable methodology, involve inclusive education for all stakeholders, foster trust, and prevent conflicts by clarifying different perspectives.
As a national initiative with participants from across the country, it also needed to emphasise diverse roles such as ownership, management and residence, and the importance of key relationships.
For an issue such as farm succession, it was also key to have banks involved and buying into the process. The four banks participating in the programme – Landshypotek Bank, Swedbank, SEB and Danske Bank – represent a significant majority (approximately 65%) of the agricultural lending market in Sweden.
It is important to discuss the soft issues around roles and responsibilities for everyone in the future. It’s easy to think that generational renewal is about taxes, finances and legal matters, but those questions should come after discussing who will own and run the farm going forward, and how we will maintain good relationships. Our experience is that it is valuable, indeed crucial, to get help from an external person to lead the conversation. It helps break habitual roles and gives everyone a chance to express their thoughts.
Insightful and helpful for understanding what you're getting into. The assignments helped us open up to each other and feel safe discussing sensitive topics. Great advice on self-reflection and identifying your own motivation—what I want to do, not what others expect of me. If I had to choose one best aspect of this process, it would be that it gave us the tools to truly sit down and talk, sharing our thoughts, feelings and wishes. It has given us excellent conditions for a successful future ownership transition. Every part has been important and rewarding! Erika is fantastic at coaching, and Sara is great with legal matters. It was also incredibly valuable to ask the bank questions and hear their perspective!
It has been very rewarding and important for our family to start having these conversations. The assignments that had to be 'presented' were great—they really pushed us to take action. Hearing others’ experiences was also incredibly valuable. As someone with a different profession but a strong interest in the farm, the legal session was especially important since I don’t often pick up on how others handle things. Other relatives get a 'head start' even though I want to be just as involved. The gender equality perspective was also crucial—it makes me sick how natural it still is to turn to sons first, even though daughters are at least as capable, if not more. Thank you!
Contacts
Erika Ekesbo Andrén