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Highlights
The European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) has launched a campaign Future…Food…Farmers aiming at raising public and political awareness as well as enhancing the role of young farmers in shaping the future of Europe’s agricultural system. Recent figures from the European Union Eurostat show that farmers over 55 years old account for more than 50 percent of farm holders in all 27 European Union countries; the number of young farmers aged under 35 make up less than seven percent of agricultural producers. Young farmers, however, often perform better than older farmers, demonstrating “40 percent more economic potential, 37 percent more hectares of utilized agricultural area and 26 percent more annual working units,” according to the Rural Development in the European Union report.
In 2014 when storms and rain crashed into this fertile Macva area, 11 hectares of land on the Petrovic farm was flooded, most of the raspberry canes, carefully nurtured and cultivated by Petrovic family, were completely destroyed and the remaining canes started drying after the floods. Jovan gave up of any hope of profit from raspberry sales in the current or the next year.
He filed an application for support from the „EU assistance to flood affected areas in Serbia“ and in autumn 2014, FAO delivered to the family 1,800 high-quality, certified raspberry canes of the Tulameen variety, which yields very large and sweet raspberries produced mostly for the fresh market.
In 1798, economist Thomas Malthus predicted that the world would exceed its food supply by the late 20th century. While he was right to identify the challenges of feeding a growing population with a finite amount of land, in the last half a century agricultural production has tripled. So, how did this happen?
Entering into farming is becoming increasingly difficult; young farmers in Europe are facing many challenges. These include exaggerated prices for farms and farmland, rising competition in the global marketplace and increasing ecological and safety obligations resulting in additional restructuring costs. In addition, existing subsidy programs for young farmers at the national and EU level remain largely ineffective.
Agriculture has an image problem. Simply put, for the majority of the world’s youth, agriculture simply isn’t seen as being “cool” or attractive. Most think of it only as back-breaking labor, without an economic pay-off—and little room for career advancement.
European Commission activates exceptional measures to further support European farmers in crisis
Brussels, 18 July 2016
Looking back, what actions will the youth of tomorrow wish today’s custodians had taken to improve the agricultural sector of 2026 and their place in it?How has the situation changed in the last ten years, for agriculture and youth’s participation in the sector? What are the primary drivers and influencers of this change?
How can youths be better engaged in Sustainable Agricultural practice in line with the 2030 Agenda? How can young Agripreneurs work towards sustainable agriculture practice in line with SDG 2? What is the responsibility of farmers and government towards sustainable agriculture?
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Looking back, what actions will the youth of tomorrow wish today’s custodians had taken to improve the agricultural sector of 2026 and their place in it?