Agrifood Special CAPitals: Generational renewal

Welcome to Euractiv’s Special CAPitals edition of the Agrifood Brief. 

In 2020, almost one in three farm managers across the EU was 65 years or older. Generational renewal is among the main challenges of European agriculture, and supporting young farmers is one of the most important objectives of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). Against this background, in their National Strategic Plans (NSPs), member states committed to aiding about 368,000 young farmers in establishing agricultural production over 2023-2027. 

Let’s dive into an EU tour dedicated to how the CAP and national policies support young farmers and generational renewal.

POLAND

Young people tend to abandon farming in Poland. The average age of Polish farmers is rising, and it has already exceeded 50 and 46% are over 55, according to the 2020 agricultural census, the newest available data. Compared with the 2010 census, the average increased by almost three years.

This is accompanied by a 25% drop in agricultural workers compared to 2010. Most experts believe this to be a result of young people’s decreasing interest in farming, as the young generation does not find agriculture a potentially interesting sector.

“One can earn more in eight hours, with less physical labour, than a farmer will often for a full day’s work,” then MP and now Senator Maciej Górski (PiS, ECR) told the parliamentary committee for agriculture last year. He added that with a minimum wage of over four thousand zlotys (€930), farming is no longer profitable, and “you can hardly earn the same amount of money with a farm of 15-20 hectares”.

As for the split between men and women, the number of farms owned by the latter is rising, as Statistic Poland (GUS) confirmed. Out of the 1.3 million workers in agriculture, 43% are women.

The CAP National Strategic Plan supports specific interventions to encourage young people to undertake agricultural activities and create and develop economic activities in rural areas.

In particular, the Polish NSP devotes over €315 million from the Rural Development Funds to young farmers, new farmers, and rural business start-ups. In 2023-27, Warsaw reserved more than €500 million from the direct payments funds to finance complementary aid for young farmers.

(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | Euractiv.pl)

GREECE

The ‘major challenge’ of generational renewal. The generational renewal of Greece’s rural population is “among the major challenges” for national agriculture due to demographic issues and the high rate of the ageing population in rural areas.

“Among the major challenges facing the primary sector of Greece, the issue of the age renewal of the rural population is prominent”, Professor Sercos Haroutounian, the President of ELGO-Dimitra, a complementary agent of the Ministry of Rural Development, pointed out in an interview with the APE-MPE news agency in February. 

More specifically, 61% of farm leaders in Greece are over 55 years old, “which is related to the reluctance of young people to join the primary sector due to the reduced attractiveness of the profession of the farmer”, he added.

In this framework, the Greek CAP National Strategic Plan 2023-27 provides funds and training for young farmers. According to Mr Haroutounian, “819 training programmes will be implemented” in Greece “covering plant and animal production and beekeeping”.

Greece ranks first in the total percentages of young farmers (under 40 years old) benefitting under the new CAP. According to a comparative evaluation of the 27 Strategic Plans, carried out by the European Commission’s DG AGRI and published last year, Greece has set the target of 67,363 young farmers “benefitting from setting up with support from the CAP, including a gender breakdown”—the second highest target, after Italy.

For the renewal of its ageing rural population, Greece has committed 5.5% of the total funds of the new CAP, putting it in first place, with Malta in second place (under 5%) when the EU average is just under 3%.

Nevertheless, according to the report, “negative trends in the number of farms and young farmers affect all member states”. Greece is among the 11 member states with the most pronounced reduction in farm numbers.

(Maranthi Pelekanaki / Euractiv.gr) 

SPAIN

Spanish farming is ageing: an average of 61.4 years. The average age of farm managers in Spain is 61.4 years, according to data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE). Around 41% of the heads of the 914,000 Spanish agricultural holdings are over 65 years old, 25% are between 55 and 64 years old, and only 4% of the farmers are under 35 years, according to a report released by the rural estate company Cocampo in 2023.

In Spain, agriculture and livestock farms employ around 770,000 workers. Only 33% are under 40, and 54% are between 40 and 59. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture, women only own 32% of farms in Spain. The share of female farm managers is lower, around 25%.

The Spanish National Strategic Plan of the CAP allocates around €97 million annually to special aid for young farmers. The aid is charged on the first hundred hectares. If the applicants are women, the assistance is 15% higher. This support for new farmers complements the basic payment, benefiting those responsible for farms up to 40 years old. The payment is available for a maximum of five campaigns from 2023. 

(Mercedes Salas / EFEAGRO)

CZECH REPUBLIC

Czechia launched new programmes with in-advance payments. Most farmers in Czechia are 45–59 years old. According to the Czech Agricultural Ministry data, the share of workers aged 45 and over in the agricultural sector is increasing, reaching 58.9% in 2022.

The problem of insufficient generational renewal is also visible in managerial positions. Data shows that 26.8% of managers are in retirement age, which means 65 years old and over. On the other hand, only 10.2% of farms are managed by young people under 40.

Part of the problem is the lack of interest in being farmers among young people – including those studying it. According to a report by the Czech Institute of Agricultural Research, agriculture students are reluctant to enter the sector after their studies, and only 30% of students of relevant programmes started to work in agriculture after graduation.

Factors for graduates’ reluctance to enter the field may include not only the difficulty of the profession but also low wages compared to other sectors.

Moreover, Czech young farmers’ organisations warn that little land is available in the country, as large agrarian companies mostly take it.

The Czech government supports young farmers via two main CAP tools.

Firstly, young farmers receive exceptional support from the rural development chapter of the Czech Strategic Agricultural Plan. More specifically, they can receive a grant to implement their business plan, including buying farmland, technologies, etc. Applicants will receive money from this programme in advance, which is different from the previously known grant titles.

Secondly, young farmers are entitled to a supplementary direct payment, added to the basic payment for each hectare they manage. Around €4.3 million are allocated yearly to these young farmers’ direct payments.

(Aneta Zachová / Euractiv.cz)

ITALY

CAP supports the generational turnover in Italian agricultural businesses. Generational turnover in the agricultural sector is a particularly sensitive and complex issue in Italy and is among the new CAP 2023/2027 objectives.

Data from the Agricultural Census for the decade 2010-2020 reveals a significant demographic imbalance in the national farming sector. Over 57% of agricultural entrepreneurs are over 60, a notable increase from 50% in 2010. Conversely, only 9.3% of farming businesses are managed by individuals under 40. According to the report, women holding entrepreneurial roles comprise 31.5%.

However, thanks to the support of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the agricultural sector is also experiencing a countertrend. According to the national farmers’ organisation Coldiretti, the number of young farm managers under 30 increased by 12.8% between 2014 and 2023, against an average decline of 25.2% across all the other economic sectors.

Between 2000 and 2022, Italy allocated an average of €912 million of the CAP funds to support youth entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector, according to an analysis published in the specialised media “Terra e vita”.

The new CAP makes a qualitative leap compared to previous programs, where first-time settlement incentives were the primary tool for encouraging young people to enter the agricultural sector. The 2023-2027 programming introduces measures targeting generational turnover, emphasising investment, training, and consultancy support.

Under the direct payments scheme, young farmers can receive complementary income support, providing a lump sum for up to 90 hectares over a five-year post-establishment period. In rural development funds planning, the “Settlement of Young Farmers” initiative offers financing up to €100,000 to kickstart agricultural start-ups, contingent upon developing a sustainable business plan.

Additional initiatives, such as the “Più Impresa” and “Generazione Terra” by Ismea (Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market), aim to promote business competitiveness and facilitate land acquisition for young entrepreneurs.

In late February, Parliament approved the bill to foster youth entrepreneurship in agriculture, including tax breaks and provisions to make pre-emption and redemption of agricultural land easier for young entrepreneurs.

(Simone Cantarini / Euractiv.it)

BULGARIA

The government wants a special grant for middle-aged farmers. Bulgaria is urging the European Commission to give the green light to a grant scheme of €30,000 to support Bulgarian entrepreneurs between 41 and 65 years old starting an agricultural business. The country hopes that the €20 million measure will attract at least 663 new entrepreneurs to the sector.

The Bulgarian authorities’ proposal reflects the problematic situation in the agricultural sector of one of the fastest-ageing European nations. According to the Federation of Independent Agricultural Trade Unions’ analysis, the demographic profile of Bulgarian farmers is “highly alarming.” Only 6.4% of Bulgarian farmers are under age 35, and the most significant percentage of farmers over 65 is more than 36.7%.

Nearly 44% of the village workforce has primary or no education, and only about 8% of those employed in the sector have secondary or higher education. Older people mainly manage the agricultural sector without an agricultural education, and only 3.5% of farm managers have an agricultural education. The family workforce and those permanently employed in Bulgarian agriculture are 292,000, a large share of the Bulgarian population (6.44 million).

In Bulgaria, agriculture is primarily a family business, with 79% of those employed in the sector being part of families managing family farms. Nearly a third are women who are farm managers in 2020, with their share increasing by 5% compared to 2010. About 2.9 million people live in the rural areas of Bulgaria, which is 42% of the Bulgarian population, and most are women.

“Women in agriculture are much more often forced to work in the informal sector of the economy, to accept precarious, seasonal, piecework or personal farm work”, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions in Agriculture reported.

The union concludes that lower incomes and the lack of differentiated safety nets send the majority of women in agriculture below the poverty line and give grounds to talk about the feminisation of poverty.

(Krasen Nikolov / Euractiv.bg)

ROMANIA

Bucharest will provide support to over 36,000 young farmers. Through the CAP National Strategic Plan 2023-2027, Romania aims to support more than 36,000 young farmers.

Although farmers over 65 make up 44.3% of the total, in the past decade, Romania has witnessed a surge in young people’s interest in agriculture and rural activities. According to Eurostat, Romania ranks 5th in the EU in the share of young farm managers. More than 155,000 young individuals under 25 are actively engaged in agriculture.

The National Strategic Plan (PNS) 2023-2027 outlines a comprehensive strategy for generational renewal, including direct payments, facilitating the establishment of young farmers, and enhancing the viability and sustainability of their farms.

An allocation of over €250 million is earmarked for facilitating the integration of young people into rural areas, with an additional €67 million allocated to supplement the incomes of young farmers.

Furthermore, nearly €170 million are dedicated to investments fostering the development of young farmers’ enterprises. To stem the tide of youth migration from rural areas, Bucharest also promotes the creation and growth of small-scale non-agricultural businesses, recognising them as vital sources of employment and income diversification.

Romanian authorities recognise the hurdles young farmers face in accessing loans – whether due to financial literacy gaps or lack of credit history – and are actively seeking solutions, including legislative measures, to facilitate their access to financing for land acquisition.

(Catalina Mihai / Euractiv.ro)

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

Read more with Euractiv