We need more than isolated success stories
During the International Year of Women in Agriculture (IYWF 2026), the HSWT will be shining a spotlight each month on women who are shaping Agriculture and food systems.
Prof. Dr Gesa Busch is Professor of Food Consumption and Well-being at the department of Sustainable Agriculture and Energy Systems. In both her research and her teaching, she explores how food systems can be made more sustainable and equitable, covering everything from production and consumption to social communication.
How did you end up in your current professional and research field?
To be honest, an academic career wasn’t my goal from the outset. I grew into the subject through agricultural sciences, and at some point my fascination with the major societal issues surrounding Agriculture and food simply wouldn’t let me go. What particularly excites me is the interdisciplinary approach required to examine these complex issues from all angles. It’s not just about agricultural economics or the natural sciences; it’s about ethics, communication, society and politics. In my teaching today, it’s particularly important to me to raise young people’s awareness of the challenges and potential of transformative approaches and to inspire them to embrace sustainable Agriculture and food systems – just as the subject itself once inspired me.
What needs to happen in the future to ensure women achieve greater visibility?
My hope is that we will actually drive forward the transformation of food systems – not just in theory, but in practice. I hope that, one day, women’s involvement in science, business, Agriculture and politics will no longer require special mention. Women have always played a key role in the global food system, and yet the data shows time and again that access to land, credit and decision-making bodies remains unevenly distributed, and that work is remunerated differently. My hope is therefore that, one day, women will no longer need to be singled out, because it will have become the norm. This requires far-reaching structural change, including within the scientific community itself. Resilient structures, fair representation policies and a societal re-evaluation of care work are not mere ‘nice-to-haves’, but fundamental prerequisites for ensuring that good science is truly accessible to all.
What helps women who wish to pursue a career in your field?
Building networks with other women. Not as an end in itself, but because the informal structures in science and Agriculture are still often male-dominated. Mutual support, actively putting forward recommendations and sharing visibility may sound unspectacular, but in the long run it has a real structural impact.
What is your conclusion regarding the UN campaign ‘International Year of the Woman Farmer’?
The campaign is important and long overdue. Women are indispensable in the global food system, whether as producers, as custodians of knowledge or as agents of change. Yet their work is structurally undervalued and underpaid. Individual success stories – such as the farmer who takes over the farm or the scientist who is appointed to a professorship – are encouraging, but they are not evidence of structural change.
