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Young people play a vital role in shaping the future of agriculture and rural areas in the EU. However, the aging farmer population presents a significant challenge, as the proportion of in 2005, 7.3 % of EU farm managers under the age of 35 years old (a ceiling taken in order to enable comparisons) declined from 7.3% in 2005 to 6.5% in 2020. To address these issues, a comprehensive approach is needed, particularly in tackling the knowledge divide across different regions. Generational renewal goes beyond merely reducing the average age of farmers; it also involves understanding the needs and aspirations of rural youth and creating an environment that fosters attachment to rural areas. Achieving this requires not only encouraging participation in diverse networks and communities, empowering the next generation to adapt to challenges and seize new opportunities, but also addressing significant barriers, such as access to land and capital, that hinder young people from entering the farming sector.
In previous programming periods, CAP generational-renewal measures improved farm business performance, resilience, and secure transfers between generations. However, these measures emphasized enhancing the socio-economic sustainability of businesses after young farmers established their operations, rather than facilitating farm succession, and were less effective for off-family farm transfers.
The CAP 2023-2027 establishes a strengthened and more comprehensive support framework for young farmers, promoting employment, growth, and local development to attract young people to rural areas, improve working and living conditions, and reduce the exodus of rural youth.
Interventions for young farmers include:
Beyond CAP funding, EU countries are also required to assess how national policies—such as tax relief schemes, farmers' pension programs, loan initiatives, and regulations on land leasing, purchasing, and inheritance—interact with CAP interventions. This ensures that national and CAP measures are aligned and mutually reinforcing, creating a cohesive framework that effectively addresses the needs of young farmers.
Box 1: Young farmer definition
The Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 on CAP Strategic Plans sets the minimum necessary common elements defining the criteria to qualify as “young farmer” at EU level. This definition includes the requirements for all relevant interventions under income support and rural development. This ensures consistency when EU countries address the objective of generational renewal in their CAP Strategic Plans.
Firstly, a young farmer must be a “farmer” as per the definition stipulated in Article 3(1) to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115. EU countries must take into consideration the following mandatory elements when drawing up their definition of a young famer as stipulated in Article 4(6) to Regulation (EU) 2021/2115:
- A young farmer can be maximum 35-40 years old (EU countries are to set the exact upper age limit).
- A young farmer must be a 'head of the holding' (i.e. must have an effective control over the holding, and EU countries must detail the specifications).
- A young farmer must have appropriate training and/or skills (EU countries must detail the
specifications).
Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) play a crucial role in modernizing the agricultural sector while contributing to generational renewal in agriculture.
AKIS interventions should be seen as a body of accompanying measures providing comprehensive support for young farmers. These measures range from building proper technical and entrepreneurial skills to enhancing functional and innovative capacities that boost not only the competitiveness of the agricultural sector but also drive its ecological transition. Furthermore, these interventions should facilitate young farmers' integration into a system of qualified relationships and horizontal networks among economic, territorial, and sectoral actors, fostering potential collaborations for entrepreneurial and territorial value chains.
Among the others some effective interventions might be the followings (list not exhaustive):
Generational renewal projects
These include project plan for installation of young farmers that must include other forms of support, by:
Cooperation for innovation
Training, discussion groups, peer-to-peer reviews, cross-visits and other forms of knowledge sharing
Advisory and innovation support services:
Information access and sharing:
The practices presented in this "Compendium" showcase three different and interesting approaches that leverage effectively the potential of AKIS interventions to support generational renewal in agriculture.
The case of the call for EIP-OGs set up by young farmers (IE) is clearly designed to provide a unique opportunity for young farmers to engage in collaborative innovation pathways that specifically address key issues related to their installation on farms, such as succession, skills development, and access to land and capital. This initiative also fosters new relational dynamics with other actors and peers, helping to build an important social network.
The case of the intergenerational knowledge transfer intervention (SE) is well designed to ensure the transfer of knowledge between generations and facilitate apprenticeships for young farmers. This is based on a structured mentorship program that is supported alongside contributions to their establishment on farms.
The last case (ES) involves the provision of a comprehensive training program that, through a mix of methods (e.g., study visits, seminars, workshops) and mentorship support, ensures thorough capacity building for young farmers.
Questions for opening the discussion and reflect on how to better direct AKIS interventions towards a skills development of young farmers, new entrants in agriculture and start-ups are:
Delivery:
SWOT & Needs Assessment:
Training and Capacity Building
Monitoring and Evaluation
Advisory and innovation support services:
