The European Commission has set an "aspirational target" to double the share of young farmers in the Europe to 24% by 2024.

The commission has today (Tuesday, October 21) published its strategy aiming to address the issue of generational renewal in agriculture.

In 2020, the average age of farmers in the EU was 57, with only 12% under the age of 40. Of this younger group, only 2.5% were women.

The commission said that ageing in agriculture is faster than in other sectors, with far more farms being managed by farmers above retirement age (33.2%).

"Ensuring generational renewal, especially on family farms, is essential to maintain food security, transfer knowledge, and align productivity with sustainability," it said.

Young farmers

The EU Commission has highlighted five areas for young farmers that need "action urgently", including access to finance; education; training and skills; land; fair standard of living in rural areas; and assistance in succession and retirement.

The new strategy contains "concrete initiatives" to address these concerns such as:

Introduce a ‘starter pack' for young farmers in the next CAP, including a lump sum of up to €300,000, to facilitate their entry and establishment in the sector;
Better targeting of funds in favour of young farmers;
Work with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to facilitate access to finance;
Establish a European Land Observatory to help farmers access available land, support farm succession, inform policy, and prevent land speculation;
National land policies to address access barriers and prevent speculative acquisitions;
Invite young farmers to participate in Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs so they can learn good farming practices abroad or diversify their revenue by learning from other sectors;
A Women in Farming Platform which will aim to attract more women to agriculture;
Promote good living conditions in rural areas while supporting local development and youth and women's involvement;
Link direct payments to farmers’ pension age by 2032 as proposed in the post-2027 CAP;
Co-fund farm relief services that replace farmers during illness, holidays, or caregiving, to improve their work-life balance.

The commission said that the strategy will be implemented through the current and future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), complementary EU policies, initiatives by stakeholders, and national actions.

Commissioner

EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen said that the new strategy aims to double the share of new and young farmers in the EU from 12% to 24%.

Each EU member state will be asked to "prepare a national strategy in their future budget plans to prepare for the next generation of farmers".

As previously announced as part of the proposals for the next EU budget, member states would be asked to dedicate "at least 6% of their ring-fenced Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) envelope to support young and new farmers".

The proposed new CAP will include a "starter pack" for young farmers, including support for setting-up with lump sums of up to €300,000, investment aid, access to financial instruments, access to training and advice, with CAP co-funding.

The commissioner said that the EU will also "better target direct payments to make sure that young farmers are supported as they should".

"We work closely with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to explore the possibilities of guarantee schemes and interest rate subsidies. Easier access to finance is essential.

"We also want to create a mentorship platform, linking retiring farmers with aspiring farmers. We all have much to learn from those who have been doing this job their whole life," he said.

The commissioner said the EU will improve work-life balance for farmers who need to take a break because they are sick, need to take care of a relative or simply want to go on holiday.

"We will co-fund the wages of the workers replacing them. We call this Farm Relief Service," he said.