Deconstructing the ‘young farmer problem in Europe’: Towards a research agenda

•European Commission policies conflate ‘young farmers’ and new entrants.•Age structure of farmers corresponds with farm-size structure in each country.•Young farmers manage larger farms, use more labour, and generate higher value.•Across Europe, larger and profitable farms are more likely to have successors.•The apparent ‘young farmer problem’ is not European wide.

In this paper we assess the evidence for a ‘young farmer problem’ in Europe, deconstructing the underpinning arguments through a review of recent literature and statistical analysis of Eurostat figures. We find a major inconsistency between European policy documents, which conflate young farm holders with new entrants; Eurostat numbers, which focus on young sole holders; and the academic literature, which consistently demonstrates the importance of farming successors to farm business development. Analysis of Eurostat figures evidences considerable national differences in young farmer numbers, suggesting that there is no shortage of young farmers at national level in Germany, France, Switzerland, Finland, Austria, France, the Czech Republic and Poland. The apparent shortage of young farmers occurs in countries where small-scale holdings are more prevalent, particularly Portugal, Italy, Romania and Greece. The statistical analysis also demonstrates considerable differences in farm structure between old and new member states, and provides support for the contention that young sole holders are more likely to operate modernised, profitable farms. The authors argue that there is insufficient evidence to adequately inform debates about the role of young people in European agriculture, proposing a research agenda which includes more consistent conceptualization of the ‘young farmer problem’, targeted research on the role of young people in agricultural innovations, assessment of regional differences within countries, and identification of farm succession processes in new EU Member States.