MEP voices fears for industry’s bloodline

ONLY one in 40 farmers in the United Kingdom is under the age of 35 and that low percentage of young people in farming has to change in the future if the industry has to increase food production, according to Scottish MEP, Alyn Smith.

Smith, who sits on the European parliament’s agriculture and rural development committee, has called for the final shape of the Common Agricultural Policy to prioritise the allocation of special support to younger farmers in Scotland.

“Generational change is proving one of the major challenges facing European farming, with the percentage of European farmers under the age of 35 decreasing from 8.5 per cent in 2003 to 6.1 per cent in 2007 – there are roughly five farmers aged 65 and over for every farmer under 35,” Smith said.

“The UK has one of the oldest farming cohorts in the EU, with just 2.6 per cent of farmers under 35 in 2007.”

He added: “Encouraging younger people, with their skills, enthusiasm and innovative mentality, into farming is vital for the future of our food production and the vitality of the rural economy.

“Aside from the simple fact that we will need new people to eventually take over the existing farm acreage, younger farmers are also more likely to take risks and diversify into new fields of enterprise, such as renewable energy and tourism.

“All of these broaden the revenue base of the farm and makes it more financially secure and protected against the volatility of markets.”

He blamed the current system of support as a real disadvantage for entrants.

“It is simply unjust that payments should be based on a historical reference from a decade ago, long before most young farmers started,” he said.

“It is also unfair that, in lieu of an adequate active farmer definition, these payments can then be traded to land investors, thus keeping them out of the hands of new entrants and further widening that financial gulf.”