MEP Maria Walsh is calling on the European Commission and member states to ring-fence at least 10% of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget exclusively for young farmers.

Walsh, who is the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the report on generational renewal in agriculture, presented her report in front of the Parliament’s agriculture committee on Tuesday 2 June.

In Ireland, the average age of a farmer is 58 years old, while only 7% of farmers are under the age of 35, Walsh explained.

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Between 2010 and 2023, the number of farms managed by farmers under the age of 35 fell by 47%, the report also details.

The MEP outlined that fewer people are choosing farming as a profession every year as they are facing too many challenges, including access to finance, land and machinery proving too expensive, basic infrastructure needs not being met and the unpredictability of regular income.

“If we are serious about reversing this trend, we must match our ambitions with the necessary funding,” Walsh stated, speaking in front of the committee.

“That is why my report calls for at least 10% of the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget to be dedicated specifically to supporting young farmers. Not aspirational funding, not voluntary support, but a binding percentage of the next CAP.”

Access to land

Walsh also stressed that access to land remains a major barrier to generational renewal due to high prices, limited availability, speculative acquisitions and insufficient succession planning.

She called on the Commission to make the EU Land Observatory fully operational, with transparent and regularly updated data on land ownership, transfers and prices.

Additionally, she urged member states to improve land access for young farmers and new entrants, through all available means, including scoring systems, pre-emptive rights, collaborative farming arrangements, collective land acquisition and expanded land-matching mechanisms to support land mobility.

Entitlement systems must also be aligned with farm succession, land mobility and productive agricultural activity, the report highlighted.

Finance

Walsh said that the €14.1bn financing gap young EU farmers faced in 2022 must be bridged in the next CAP.

She is calling for tailored financial instruments, such as low-interest loans, long-term credit and blended finance, alongside robust risk management tools to protect young farmers from climate and market volatility.

Succession

The report also points out that farm succession is often hindered by inadequate pensions, financial insecurity, complex inheritance rules and administrative burdens, slowing down transfers of farms to younger generations.

Walsh is calling on member states to review their pension schemes and retirement conditions and to introduce incentives facilitating gradual retirement and the passing over of farms to younger people.

In addition, she urged the Commission and the member states to develop integrated advisory models supporting farming families throughout succession planning, including the legal, financial and administrative aspects.

“Farmers must be able to retire with dignity and financial security - and better advisory services are needed to support succession planning and farm transfers,” Walsh said.