“The numbers really speak for themselves: In Europe, 11.9% of the farmers are under 40, and that is very different in member states as well. For example, in Poland it is 30%, so that is quite high. But for example, in Portugal, more than half of farmers are 65 years or older, so this is a very big challenge that we are facing … in Africa these numbers are even worse.”

These were the concerns shared by Aalt van Middendorp from the European Council of Young Farmers at the event “The role of youth in transforming food systems in the AU-EU Partnership” hosted by the Brussels Office of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) on 23 May. A group of civil society organizations and academics participated in the roundtable discussion.

In both continents, the question of how to address the challenge of an aging farming population is becoming more and more urgent. While technology can help, the role of youth is essential and irreplaceable for ensuring its proper adoption and for the future of sustainable food systems. In her introductory remarks, Melania Mora from the BIC underlined how “there is this recognition of the capacity of youth to become protagonists of change in their communities and to mobilize resources, and to mobilize people, and how the aspirations of youth are shaped by and also shape the environment that they find themselves in. This invites us to reflect on what is really the role of youth in this broader question of transforming food systems, especially as delimited by the African-Europe partnership?”

African and European youth farmers face similar and complex challenges, such as grappling with the pressures exerted by climate change and building resilience in increasingly volatile social, political, and economic conditions. Participants also mentioned structural constraints that contribute to the devaluation of agriculture such as access to land, insurance, inputs, financing, and support. Nonetheless, they stressed how these elements are combined with other sociocultural factors which drive youth away from agriculture. 

Stephen Agahi-Murphy, a researcher at the University of Leeds who spoke at the meeting, said “Young people become alienated from meaningful agricultural knowledge and also from developing rural life skills … one of the many high-level aspirations for youth to leave are rooted in this perception that there is no future in the village they reside in. [Our] research tries to look at how varying forms of education, specifically, shape that perception that there is no future in the village.”

On the European side, Mr. van Middendorp added “We often do see that there is also a kind of stigma about  agriculture: that it is bad for the environment. And that is of course true to a large extent. Agriculture is one of the causes which contributes to climate change. However, it is really important to see that these young people are really the people who already acknowledge that there is climate change and we want to solve that.” 

Participants also noted that ideas around modernity and narratives on values and visions from broader society are critical in the way young people see themselves and their futures. Kerilyn Schwel, a Lecturing Fellow at Duke University and Co-Director of the university’s Program on Climate-Related Migration, said that “When will young people choose agriculture, choose to be farmers? There are instances where young people have actively chosen it. What can we learn from those situations? I think that the choice to be a farmer is linked to a bigger social purpose and bigger vision for social change.”

Eric Ndushabandi, director of the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace in Rwanda, asked at the event “What are the kind of programs that help young people, giving them insurance setup, or the minimum resources to invest in agriculture, as well as organizing them in cooperatives?”

The need for spaces to support young people in agriculture and to enable intergenerational collaboration among farmers was also shared by Mr. van Middendorp, who pointed out that “We often talk about how we get education and knowledge to farmers, but also how do we get the knowledge that these farmers have to other farmers?”

Sanem Kavrul, a researcher on the Program for Social Action applied by Baha’i-inspired organizations in Africa, added that another approach is to look at how education shapes notions of agriculture. “There is a need for a way to transform the educational system existing in rural areas in all continents regarding agriculture and its place in society,” she said, and “for an education that instills in young people a sense of purpose to transform existing systems and to allow meaningful conversations among themselves, among other farmers in other continents, older farmers. This sense of purpose can motivate them to take initiative and charge, and find ways to establish economically viable systems for themselves, but also to think about the wellbeing of their community as a whole.”