Today in Tarragona, Spain, young farmers, and agricultural cooperatives gathered to exchange on the role of agricultural cooperatives in addressing the challenge of generational renewal facing European agriculture.
The second Cogeca Presidency Business Forum for this year, “Fostering the Future of Farming: The Importance of Cooperatives in Cultivating Our New Generation of Young Farmers” concluded in Tarragona, Spain. This event brought together over 250 young cooperators, representatives of Spanish and EU authorities, and agricultural experts to address the pressing issue of generational renewal in European agriculture. Among invited guests, the event featured Luis Planas, President of the AGRIFISH Council and Maciej Golubiewski Head of Cabinet for the Commissioner for Agriculture who underlined the essential role of cooperatives in supporting young people in agriculture.
Opening the event, Cogeca Vice-President and Coordinator of the Cogeca Presidency Business Forum, Christian Høegh-Andersen, noted, “In the face of the daunting challenge of generational renewal we must acknowledge that the future of European agriculture is intertwined with the future of our young farmers. By embracing our cooperatives and harnessing their potential, we can secure generational renewal and ensure a sustainable future for agriculture.”
Given this Forum’s theme, a highlight was the active role of young farmers whose contributions were essential to its success, providing key insights into the challenges facing young people in farming, along with priorities for the future of agriculture. Additionally, a showcasing of best practices from cooperatives on how they are engaging young farmers provided strong evidence of the role cooperatives have in fostering generational renewal. In short, this event emphasised tangible opportunities for young farmers within cooperatives as entrepreneurial leaders.
In his closing remarks, Cogeca President Ramón Armengol expressed his gratitude and optimism for the future of European agriculture, stating, “The future of European agriculture is intricately intertwined with the future of our young farmers.” He highlighted the importance of cooperatives already supporting young farmers, emphasizing the need to further empower them as future leaders of agriculture.
President Armengol also announced the forthcoming publication of the Tarragona Manifesto, a set of collective aspirational objectives focusing on how cooperatives can support new farmers. The manifesto, due to be published in the coming months, will outline key objectives to support young farmers’ professional development, provide financial support for their projects, and encourage their involvement in cooperative governance.
The Cogeca Presidency Business Forum has shown that achieving generational renewal is a precondition to achieving a more sustainable European agriculture. Cooperation is key to this success.
Fonte: Copa Cogeca
