Support for young people and the removal of obstacles to access to land are essential to guarantee the future of agriculture, the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee stated, on Tuesday 19 September.
The committee adopted (43 votes in favour, none against and one abstention) the report by Isabel Carvalhais (S&D, Portuguese) on generational renewal on EU farms.
MEPs are proposing the adoption of European legislation to improve the functioning of national farmland markets and address land concentration. A European observatory for farmland should be set up to monitor trends and land sale and rental prices in order to ensure greater transparency of land transactions in the EU. Member States should promote access to land for young farmers, through rights of pre-emption, controls on sale and rental prices or guarantees of long-term use.
Young farmers should benefit from lower interest rates and help with the first instalment of the loan, as well as advice on improving their financial literacy, say MEPs.
They suggest national strategies to promote generational change, including financial support for land transfers and pension protection. EU countries would create a position of farm succession facilitator to provide advice on farm transfers from one generation to the next.
MEPs point out that young farmers are better equipped to seize the opportunities offered by the green and digital transitions, as they are more likely to use new technologies and implement sustainable farming practices. According to MEPs, young farmers should be provided with access to a reliable Internet connection as well as training in digital skills, business planning and innovative practices. The report will be voted on at the plenary session (16-19 October). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)