MEPs to vote on help for young farmers

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.