The 10th EPP European Congress of Young Farmers took place today in the European Parliament, bringing together a record audience of 500 participants.
Started in 2012 by the EPP Group, together with the Portuguese Farmers Confederation (CAP) and Spanish Farmers Association (ASAJA), the European Congress of Young Farmers has now become a landmark event in the agriculture calendar.
“We are proud to celebrate 10 years of the EPP Congress of Young Farmers, a testament to the EPP’s commitment to support young farmers and to recognise their crucial role in maintaining the European way of life. As we start this new mandate, we must ensure that agriculture stays attractive for the next generation of young farmers. This congress offers an important opportunity for us policy makers to address key challenges like generational renewal, water management, and innovation, to ensure a resilient, sustainable future for European agriculture,” said the MEP Hosts, Herbert Dorfmann, from Italy, Jessika Van Leeuwen, from the Netherlands, Paulo do Nascimento Cabral, from Portugal, and Carmen Crespo Díaz, from Spain.
With the number of farmers in the European Union dropping by nearly 30% since 2005 and the number of young farmers (under 44 years old) by over 30%, from 3.3 million in 2005 to 2.3 million in 2017, the EU’s agriculture sector heavily relies on a diminishing and ageing population.
Over 31% of all farms in the EU are run by farmers over the age of 65, while young farmers account for only 6%. The situation is even worse in some countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria.
In this context, the European Congress of Young Farmers was created to encourage young people to stay in agriculture and share know-how and innovative solutions to the similar problems they face across Europe. Through the participants’ best practices, more young people are encouraged to join the agriculture sector, ensuring Europe’s food security and, thus, future.
“Since 2012, we have welcomed over 2,500 young farmers and 4,000 policymakers and agricultural stakeholders from across the Member States. Moreover, 30 young farmers were awarded prizes for sustainability, innovation, digitalisation, resilience and improving rural areas,” said the co-organisators Pedro Barato, president of the Spanish Farmers Association (ASAJA), and Luís Mira, president of the Portuguese Farmers Confederation (CAP).
The Congress could not be possible without the enduring support of industry partners, especially CropLife Europe and McDonald’s.
“CropLife Europe is very proud to support the EPP European Congress of Young Farmers since the very beginning. Over the past 10 years, we’ve seen incredible ideas, inspiring stories, and innovative projects. Once again, young farmers have showcased remarkable willingness and courage to embrace innovation, helping pave the way for a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive EU agriculture. Our sector is committed in continuing to support them namely with a €14 billion investment in cutting-edge technologies by 2030,” said Olivier de Matos, Director General at CropLife Europe.
“McDonald’s is a proud partner of EPP European Congress of Young Farmers, and we remain deeply committed to enabling the next generation of farming talent. Our long-standing relationships with thousands of farmers across the region are essential to our business; we source 95% of the key products in our European restaurants from within the EU. We’re excited to see the drive and ingenuity of young farmers to build a more sustainable and resilient industry that can meet existing and future needs. We’ll continue working hand in hand to collectively adapt, and scale innovative regenerative farming solutions to help us improve climate change resilience, protect the food ecosystem and associated livelihoods, and provide the highest-quality ingredients for the long term,” said Anna Borys, Senior Director of Government Relations Europe at McDonald’s.
Fonte: EPP
