The Future is Farming: What Do Young Farmers Need?

In the first episode of a new series on the future of farming, we explore what the next generation of farmers needs to build a sustainable future.

Fewer than ten per cent of Dutch farmers are under the age of forty. When farmers retire, there is often no successor ready to take over their business. Young people are deterred by high land prices, climate and environmental challenges, complex regulations and an increasingly polarised public debate. The Netherlands is not alone in this: across Europe, the farming population is shrinking, with small-scale farmers particularly likely to leave the sector.

Yet the next generation of farmers is essential. Not only to secure Europe’s future food supply, but also to bring about much-needed innovation in the agricultural sector. In the first edition of The Future is Farming, we explore what the farmer of the future will look like, and what it will take to get there. What are the main obstacles preventing young people from taking over a farm? What can governments, banks and other stakeholders do to help remove these barriers? 

And what role will Europe play? From 2028 onwards, the EU’s subsidy system is set for a major overhaul. At the same time, the European Commission has set an ambition for at least a quarter of all farmers to be under the age of forty by 2040. What plans are in place to make this happen?

About The Future is Farming
European farmers are facing a number of existential challenges. The average age of farmers is rising, land is becoming increasingly expensive, and climate change is making farming a more uncertain livelihood. At the same time, the EU is committed to safeguarding food security for its 500 million citizens. What do these developments mean for the future of European agriculture?

In collaboration with WUR (Wageningen University & Research), De Balie presents a three-part series exploring the future of farming. Who will be the farmers of tomorrow, what do they need, and where and how can we ensure a sustainable future for farmers and agriculture? We will take a close look at the rest of Europe: what can we learn from one another? Many of the solutions are already there, we just need to implement them. Over the course of three evenings, we bring together people from across the European agricultural sector to explore what farming in the twenty-first century will look like.