• The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food is publishing a special issue chronicling the lives and projects of all the women recognized in this edition.

This 10th edition took place last October 2019, adding 11 more recognitions to the 86 projects already recognized in previous years. These awards were intended to highlight the innovative projects developed by women in our rural areas.
These projects encompass initiatives of all kinds: agricultural and livestock production, rural tourism, gastronomy, hospitality, cosmetics, crafts, social services, fishing-related activities, and agri-food trade. They all share a close relationship with local activities and represent a significant contribution to the development of the region and its environmental and social sustainability.

2019 Edition

The names that give voice and face to the projects recognized in this 10th edition are the following:

Awards: Excellence for Innovation in Agricultural Activity

• First Prize - Entre Setas / Nazaret Mateos Álvarez. "EntreSetas" is the first company in Castile and León certified for growing whole-growth mushrooms, that is, starting from scratch for planting.
• Second Prize - MoringaSmile. The smile maker tree of life / A3ceres Agrifood Consulting. Between eight and ten women work on the project, led by Laura and Raquel. This number includes three female farmers.
• Third Prize - Aires del Apartadero / Lydia Domínguez Tejera. Lydia has planted 1,100 raspberry plants, becoming the only organic raspberry producer in the Canary Islands.

Awards: Excellence for innovation in fishing or aquaculture activities

• First Prize - Curricán Artisanal Preserves SL. A company "conceived and run by women, for women." The three founders were over 45 when they started working at the bakery.
• Second Prize - Implementation of the Xesmar technological platform / Fishermen's Guilds "San Antonio" of Cambados and "A Pastoriza" of Villanova de Arousa. Shellfish harvesting along the Galician coast is a traditional form of aquaculture that has provided employment opportunities for women in rural coastal areas.
• Third Prize - Galician Federation of Artisanal Fishing Net Makers . The creation and maintenance of fishing tools is an essential skill for the extractive sector, but it is a job subject to high seasonality and precariousness.

Awards: Excellence in Innovation in Diversification of Economic Activity

• First Prize - “el Avío” Social Catering / El Avío Association . A non-profit catering company that works with quality local food to create menus that are delivered daily via hot line to the most vulnerable groups.
• Second Prize - LevinRed Winecosmetics. LevinRed produces cosmetics from the Ribeiro region's flagship product: wine.
• Third Prize - Natursnacks / Spanish Dehydrated Foods SL Natursnacks produces dehydrated fruits and vegetables in snack format. A kilo of dehydrated fruits or vegetables contains between ten and twenty kilos of fresh raw materials, and a process that takes between 12 and 24 hours.

Awards: Excellence in Communication

• First Prize - 24/7 Always Alert / María Blasco Lázaro . The program “24/7 Always Alert” was launched in July 2019. The objectives were and remain: “to raise awareness among the local population about risk culture and highlight the excellent work of emergency professionals in rural areas.”

Honorary Award – Special recognition for a career supporting women in rural areas: Mujer había que ser / El Intermedio.

"Mujer Tenía Que Ser" highlights the stories of women who recount on camera the challenges they have faced simply for being women and champion the fight for equality.

You can check out this special publication at the following link: https://bit.ly/2VBrhvx