{"id":264529,"date":"2025-07-14T15:16:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/264529\/"},"modified":"2025-07-14T15:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-14T15:16:21","slug":"how-to-attract-the-next-generation-of-agricultural-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/264529\/","title":{"rendered":"How to attract the next generation of agricultural workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The number of farmers in Europe is dropping. <\/p>\n

In fact, according to Eurostat, there is a long-established downward trend in the number of people working in the EU\u2019s agricultural sector. During the period between 2009 and 2024, there was a loss equivalent to 3.5m full-time workers across the EU.<\/p>\n

Added to that is the fact that just 11% of farms in the EU are run by people under the age of 40. In other words, young people simply aren\u2019t interested. <\/p>\n

\u201cEuropean agriculture is experiencing a demographic crisis,\u201d says Emma Berthaud of insights firm FoodUnfolded. <\/p>\n

This begs the question, who will produce food for the next generation?<\/p>\n

Who will feed the next generation?<\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiting the farmers of tomorrow, who will be trailblazers in adopting sustainable practices, is essential if we want to feed our growing population,\u201d says Klaus G Grunert, professor of marketing at Aarhus University and lead of EIT Food Consumer Observatory.<\/p>\n

To that end, EIT recommends industry stakeholders, including policy makers and educators, focus attention on how technology is revolutionising food production, to help attract people to the industry.<\/p>\n

This will help to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Excite and inspire young people about new opportunities in farming.<\/li>\n
  2. Reassure people that farming is a great industry to be a part of. Poor working conditions associated with agricultural work, especially the manual labour required, are a powerful and prevalent demotivator. Technology can help to tackle the sector\u2019s reputation for hard, exhausting manual labour by automating and digitalising some tasks.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The industry is also urged to present technology as being complementary to connecting with nature, rather than damaging to it. While technology excites some, it is also seen as an intruder on the farm, especially for those who value agricultural work for its ability to bring people closer to nature. To shift this view, industry insiders are urged to highlight technology\u2019s ability to enable more sustainable agriculture in order to protect nature.<\/p>\n

    \"InitiallyThe farming industry is urged to remove perceived barriers to entry, such as the negative view of pay. (Image: Getty\/Monty Rakusen)Remove barriers to entry<\/p>\n

    Governments and industry stakeholders are urged to address the biggest barriers young people face when considering a career in farming.<\/p>\n

    They must: <\/p>\n