While food production in the future is likely to rise, the future of the next generation of farmers is uncertain. At present just 7.6% of farms in the European Union are run by people under 35. On Thursday Parliament will vote on a report by Italian MEP Donato Tommaso Veraldi (EPP-ED), which aims to make it easier for young people to enter the agri-business.
What is clear is that the profile of farmers is ageing. More than 50% of EU holdings are run by farmers over the age of 55, and 25% by farmers over the age of 65. In contrast only 7.6% of EU farms are run by people under 35 years of age.
The main goal of the Veraldi-report is to make it easier for young people to enter the agri-foods sector and, at the same time, to effect a "generation change" in order to make the sector more dynamic.