Elaine van Eeden, pre-breeding project lead at Syngenta in Bethlehem, was recently announced as the 2025 winner of the Women’s Voice Competition at a gala event in Johannesburg.

Van Eeden’s passion for wheat breeding and finding solutions to address the seasonal challenges farmers have to cope with, made her the clear winner in this year’s event.

The Women’s Voice Competition highlights the remarkable achievements and aspirations of women making a difference in the practice of agriculture and rural communities. This year attracted some truly inspiring entries from across the country, each reflecting a story of resilience, leadership, and innovation in the sector.

According to Magda du Toit, director of Future Agri Perspectives, this initiative was launched in 2024 to amplify the voices of women in agriculture and to honour the vital contributions they make to the sector.

The five finalists in the competition were Alani Janeke (communicator), Elaine van Eeden (breeder and researcher), Heleen Viljoen (agricultural economist), Prudence Thulisile Mokwena (farmer and founder of RBKM Chickens), and Sarah Malatjie (project administrator). Viljoen won second place and Janeke third place.

“After reviewing the entries, it is unfortunate that only five finalists could be selected. All the women who participated, whether it was in a professional, leadership or technical role, are winners for their contributions to agriculture. The entries highlighted the sector’s vast possibilities and emphasised the meaningful role women play in the agricultural sector. I feel that each of the woman showed courage to enter and is therefore already a winner. By participating, she has contributed towards her own personal development. Congratulations to all of them,” Du Toit said.

During the event, the finalists had one last opportunity to impress the judges by sharing more insight into the topics they chose and how it impacted on their lives, careers in agriculture, and in their communities or the environment. Van Eeden dedicated her victory to every woman working tirelessly – often behind the scenes – to ensure the sector’s sustainability and progress, but especially to the team working with her on the research farm in the greenhouse. She has been working in wheat breeding and research for the past 28 years, residing and mainly working in the Bethlehem region. According to her, wheat is a beautiful crop.

Her work focuses on finding new material that will benefit farmers while also ensuring that the varieties conform to the standards and needs of the milling and baking industries. Du Toit urged women in the sector to continue championing diversity in agriculture, emphasising that every story shared, every barrier broken, and every innovation fostered contributes to a brighter, more inclusive agricultural sector for all.

“By sharing their insights, the finalists in the 2025 competition shed new light on many aspects impacting on agriculture,” says Andries Wiese, business development manager at Hollard and main sponsor of the competition. Apart from Hollard, the other sponsor partners were Syngenta Seed, Empire Fleet Solutions, NWK, and FNB.

Du Toit says that without the support of their sponsors, a competition and an event such as this would not have been possible. Roean Wessels, head of research and development of Syngenta Seed Sub-Saharan Africa, said during the function that confident women who speak for agriculture on national and global stages are important.

“Events such as this create the platform for discussion and for everyone to take part in those discussions, and that was the reason why Syngenta is involved in the initiative.”

Anna-Marie van Rooyen, group company secretary and head of legal counsel at NWK, used ants as example of how women can create an enabling environment for all to participate on various levels. Erica Carstens, group chief executive officer (CEO) of Empire Fleet, stressed that empowerment of women was extremely important to her company.

“Once you have empowered a woman, you are empowering a community and indeed the world. When a woman is empowered, a legacy begins.”

Kgomotso Ngoetjane, on behalf of FNB, pointed out that their wish as partners in this competition is to encourage women to be part of discussions.

“We believe women who are authentic in their actions can lead and thrive in the agricultural sector.”