The Future of Agriculture in the European Union
Question
Dear writer here are some paper instructions. Article pattern: Abstract (summary - maximum 200 words) Keywords (maximum five) Introduction Literature Survey, Problem definition / Hypothesis, Methodology / Approach, Results Discussion and Conclusion. References: Please, use books, websites, articles, monographs, masters or phd thesis or any other relevant literature to the topic. I will attach here some books and websites, pdf files for you to use in this research.
Proposed Problem statement / Hypothesis: Only 11% of all farm holdings in the European Union are run by farmers under 40. A large proportion of European farmers are aged 55+ and only 6% are under 35, with women representing only 4,9% of farmers under the age of 35. The number of young farmers has significantly decreased from 3,3 million in 2005 to 2,3 million at present.
Proposed Solution to the problem: Generational renewal and the entry of young people into farming is a key priority of the new CAP - Common agricultural policy: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/cap-glance_en
EU needs more younger farmers who are educated, digitally literate with management skills and environmentally conscious. Nowadays, farming is more than knowing how to use tools in agricultural production. We require farmers how know how to sell what they produce and how to establish and build relationships with customers, use digital tools and marketing tools.Younger generation is open to learn and use new technologies and modernise agriculture and rural areas through fostering and sharing knowledge, innovation and digitalisation, through improved access to research, knowledge exchange and training etc.
Regarding methodology and approach you can decide what methods are best to use to prove the statement or solve the problem defined. Regarding references, I put 19, but you can put more if needed, but not less than 15.
Websites closely related to the topic:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/cap-glance_en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYK5JN-y34E
https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/income-support/young-farmers_en
https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/ageing-europes-farmers-remains-major-challenge-rural-areas-2021-apr-08_en
Online books to approach: https://www.pdfdrive.com/agricultural-development-farmers-farm-production-and-farm-markets-vol-3-in-handbook-of-agricultural-economics-volume-18-of-handbooks-in-economics-north-holland-d185368198.html
I have assigned this work to the same writer because I was content with the previous work, so I left small tip for him / her for dedicated work. I am very busy so your help and quality work is much appreciated.
Thank you for your time and effort.


Solution
Abstract
This report looks at the current
situation concerning the future of agriculture in the EU. The information
starts by describing the current state of agriculture and how there are many
challenges facing it. It then details some of these challenges and how they can
be addressed. Next, the research is about the future of agriculture in Europe
and how investments can improve it for young farmers. The number of farmers
under 35 has significantly decreased, and many European farmers are aged 55+.
There are many reasons for this decline in young farmers, including changes in
lifestyle choices and economic pressures within Europe. Some young people
choose not to follow their parents into farming because it is seen as
traditional or uncool. Others have difficulty finding suitable land or farms to
buy at an affordable price; still, others struggle with a lack of access to
funding or support from governments or banks. This situation may negatively
affect food security in Europe because younger generations do not have enough
knowledge about agriculture or farming techniques to keep up with technological
advancements and innovations. He also states that younger generations will be
forced out of agriculture altogether if current trends continue, declining
quality products.
Keywords
● Agriculture
● Future
● Generation Shifts
● European Union
● Young Farmers
The Future of Agriculture in the European Union
The European Union (EU) has over 500
million people and an agricultural sector that employs over 10 million people.
The EU is the most significant farm producer and exporter globally, accounting
for about 30% of global food production and around 30% of agricultural output
worldwide (Kolasa, 2018). On
the other hand, the EU is also one of the largest importers of agricultural
products, importing around 60% of its food needs from non-EU countries. The
future of agriculture will be shaped by several factors such as climate change,
demographic changes, technological developments, and geopolitical issues. In
this case, to ensure a sustainable food system in Europe, it is necessary to
have a new generation of well-trained, highly skilled, and innovative farmers.
This study aims to understand how new generations can change the future of
agriculture in Europe. Furthermore, the study will focus on how young farmers
can improve and create a sustainable future for their industry.
Literature Survey
According to Vitunskienė, Aleksandravičienė, and Ramanauskė
(2022), the European Union (EU) has faced several economic,
environmental, and social challenges over the past couple of years. These
issues have led to increased political tensions between member states, which
has resulted in the rise of populist parties and movements. The recent Brexit
vote and the election of Donald Trump are two examples of how these tensions
are spilling over into political discourse. One area where we have seen increased
tensions is related to food security, climate change, biodiversity, and animal
welfare (Staniszewski and
Czyżewski, 2018). There has been much discussion about GMOs (genetically
modified organisms), their impact on our health and the environment, and how
agriculture can adapt to climate change impacts such as drought and flooding. Średzińska, Siemiński, and Godek
(2021) believe that there are many challenges faced by young farmers
today. One of them is financial constraints.
Young farmers have to work harder to
earn income from their farms due to a lack of capital and funding, especially
during the financial crisis when banks were reluctant to lend money for such
purposes. Another challenge faced by young farmers is lack of land availability
since agricultural land is owned by older generations who do not wish to sell
it or pass it down to younger family members due to reasons like inheritance
tax and other associated costs that would arise after selling the land (Luo et al., 2022). This
makes it difficult for younger people without enough experience or knowledge
about running a farm efficiently and operating one successfully without enough
resources or help from experienced people willing to participate in farming.
As per Panagos et al. (2018), the European Union faces a
significant problem in a shrinking pool of young farmers. To address this
issue, the European Commission has launched a new initiative called “Generation
Shifts,” which aims to strengthen and build economically sustainable farms
through generation shifts. Generation shifts will be achieved by supporting
young farmers through grants, loans, and training programs to start their farm
businesses. The project is being implemented by five leading farm organizations
in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Martinho (2020) believes that the EU needs more
young farmers to bring new skills and knowledge into the industry. They also
have fresh ideas on how best to operate their farms which would help improve
efficiency. Furthermore, they could play a role in innovation, especially if
they are linked with universities or research institutes where they can learn
about new technologies such as robotics or nanotechnology.
Problem Definition
According to the problem analysis,
an absence of young farmers will reduce agricultural profitability because they
lack the necessary knowledge and expertise to run their farms successfully.
This will also impact food security as fewer people can produce food for the
world population. The European Union needs more young farmers as it is an
essential source of innovation and creativity, and it can help reduce rural
exodus (Qian et al., 2020).
The main drivers for this problem are:
·
Farmers do not want to work hard anymore, so they prefer to
sell their businesses to others;
·
Young people do not want to take over from their parents
because they cannot afford to buy farms;
·
Young people do not have enough knowledge about farming;
·
There are not enough jobs in rural areas, making it harder
for young people to find employment (Rađenović, Krstic, and Markovic, 2022).
·
Many young people are moving away from rural areas towards
cities where they can find better jobs and education opportunities.
Hypothesis
This research hypothesizes that building more substantial
and economically sustainable farms through generation shifts can lead to a more
competitive European farming sector. The view was based on:
1)
EU’s goal for agricultural sustainability by 2020;
2)
EU’s policy to promote youth employment; and
3)
EU’s support for young farmers through funding programs like
LEADER+.
Methodology
To understand the future of
agriculture in the European Union by exploring the current situation and trends
and identifying significant challenges and opportunities to improve the future
competitiveness of European farmers. The research was conducted through a
qualitative analysis of the existing literature on generational shifts,
focusing on agricultural practices and policy in Europe. The authors also
consulted with experts within agriculture to add more depth to their findings (Schleypen, Mistry, Saeed, and
Dasgupta, 2022). A survey was conducted by asking farmers about their
views on generational change. The survey consisted of closed-ended questions
and open-ended questions, which allowed for detailed responses from
respondents. Therefore, to determine any gender differences between young and
old farmers, a web-based questionnaire was created and distributed online to a
random sample of 500 members of the European Farmers’ Union (EFF) (Reidsma et al., 2018). The
EFF is an organization that represents more than 1 million farmers across
Europe, including over 200,000 young farmers. The main findings are that young
people are not interested in farming; they prefer working in other industries
or moving away from rural areas altogether. This is due to poor working
conditions and low pay.
Results
The EU has an aging population. The
average age of farmers is over 60 years old, and less than 7% are under 35.
With such low numbers of young farmers, the future of agriculture in Europe
will be at risk if these trends continue. The study shows that agriculture in
the EU faces a crisis because of a lack of young farmers (Hudcová, Vymazal, and Rozkošný,
2019). This is because of several factors like an increase in the cost
of education, land, and the lack of support from the government. The study also
shows that farmers run only 11% of all farm holdings under 40, which means that
there will be more older farmers soon, which will lead to less innovation and
diversity in agriculture. Therefore, Europe will face a food shortage as there
will not be enough young people willing to become farmers and produce food for
their population. If we do not solve this problem soon enough, we may have
another famine like we saw in Ireland during World War II or even worse (Kijek et al., 2019).
Another crisis during the Great Depression was when most people lost their jobs
and had no money to buy food, so they starved to death because they did not
have any income or savings left after losing their jobs.
Discussion and Conclusion
According to the European Commission’s
research, there is a shortage of young farmers, which is a critical challenge
for the future of agriculture in the EU. The research shows that we need to
attract more young people into farming to have a sustainable agricultural
sector (Ghiotto and Echaide,
2019). The main finding from this research is that there are many
different issues facing young farmers, but if we address these issues, we can
help young people start their careers as farmers. This will ensure that
agriculture remains strong and economically sustainable in Europe. Young
farmers’ main issue is the lack of government support for new entrants into
agriculture. The EU spends €1 billion each year supporting farmers, but only
€150 million of this goes towards helping new entrants into agriculture (Bournaris et al., 2022).
This means that only 1% of all EU funding goes towards helping new entrants
into agriculture. Another issue facing young farmers is access to land, which
can be very hard for them to get hold of without financial backing or
experience (Bórawski et al.,
2019).)
In this case, the solution could be
to increase awareness about farming as a career choice by targeting young
people through schools and universities so they can learn more about what it
takes to run a successful farm business. In addition, there should be
incentives for young farmers who want to start their own business, such as
low-interest rate loans and grants from government agencies or private sector
companies that need their products, such as supermarkets.
There are other several solutions available:
1) Provide training opportunities for young people who want
to become farmers to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to manage a farm
business successfully. This will help them start their farm businesses or
become employees on other farms when they are ready for it;
2) Create educational programs specifically designed for
young people interested in becoming farmers (Adamowicz and Zwolińska-Ligaj, 2018).
3) Provide scholarships or grants for those who want to
further their education to become better educated about farming practices.
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