Vested interests get in the way of young farmers’ boost
It’s only a proposal, and young people interested in farming shouldn’t depend on it becoming a reality any time soon. If it moves at the usual speed of EU decision making, it could be a few years before it happens — even if there is widespread support behind it from the member states, something which hasn’t materialised yet.
Commendable though the proposals to boost EU support tools for young farmers are, Ministers representing member states at this week’s Farm Council meeting in Brussels were divided.
Unfortunately, a number of governments could not back a proposal on allowing zero interest rate loans for land acquisitions. These governments, along with the European Commission, raised worries about land price speculation and competition rules.
However, the proposals (which came from Italy, which finishes its six-month EU Presidency on December 31) are not shot down entirely; they live on. According to the Euro jargon, a large number of member states supported the Presidency conclusions for strengthening the EU policies for young farmers.
Already, a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in agriculture and rural development has been signed, in July, by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
With this in place, say the countries which support this EU proposal, member states could, on a voluntary basis, provide zero interest rate loans for land acquisition to young farmers that possess adequate occupational skills and submit a business plan.
As for the member states who couldn’t agree with this proposal this week, their reservations look flimsy in view of the EU’s youth unemployment rate of over 23% — more than five million young people are unemployed in the EU-28.
Meanwhile, the proportion of EU farmers aged under 35 is only 7.5% of the farming population, while more than 30% are aged over 65.
Setting up young farmers will shorten the dole queues, and the energy and drive they bring into farming can create new agri-food jobs and growth, thus contributing to the Europe 2020 Strategy of EU leaders who say they want a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy with high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion.
The supporters of improved policies for young people in farming say land is the main factor of production in agriculture, and securing access to farmland is fundamental, at a time when a whole generation of European farmers is reaching retirement age.
They agree that any measure to facilitate access to land should be implemented in a way to avoid land market price speculation.
They see that generational renewal in agriculture is a precondition for maintaining viable food production and improving the competitiveness of the sector. New entrants are needed to take over from retiring farmers, to invest in and modernise their agricultural holdings.
However, they depend too much on the transfer of land from already existing farms, and need support for initial investments, access to loans, land, business advice and training to become more modern and competitive.
This is where EU agriculture falls down in getting the next generation involved, according to the proposal from Italy — not enough access to credit, land and transfer of innovation and professional experience.
The proposal includes programmes similar to the “Erasmus” project, to which the EU has allocated a seven-year budget of €14.7 billion to help over four million Europeans study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad, to boost their skills and employability.
Italy’s young farmer proposal could breathe new life into EU farming, but this week’s opposition in Brussels raises the fear that there are too many vested interests in the 28 member states to ever fully agree, no matter how commendable the idea.
