Exploring the roles of women in the development of multifunctional entrepreneurship on family farms: an entrepreneurial learning approach

This paper analyses women's roles in the learning process that accompanies the switch towards multifunctionality and multifunctional entrepreneurship: the process by which farmers gain the necessary knowledge and skills 'to do multifunctionality', develop and adapt their identity as 'multifunctional entrepreneurs', and re-establish the identity of the farm as a multifunctional one. Detailed inspection of men's and women's positions and functions in the learning process reveals women's leading roles in: 1) introducing new identities and practices onto the farm, 2) providing access to new networks and learning environments, and 3) initiating negotiation within the farming family regarding the farm's (future) orientation towards primary production or multifunctionality. All three aspects of learning are essential building blocks for the development of multifunctional entrepreneurship on family farms. The paper is based on a study of 120 Dutch multifunctional farms, with a detailed analysis of the genderedness of the entrepreneurial learning process in three specific farm cases.