Over 140 delegates attended the forum, organised by Gorta-Self Help Africa and Concern Worldwide. The speakers came from a variety of countries, including South Sudan, Kenya, Malawi and Zambia, as well as international organisations and academia.

Dyborn Chibonga, head of Malawi’s National Smallholder Farmers’ Association, said that the average age of farmers in Malawi is 65. John Mutunga, CEO of the two-million member Kenya National Farmers’ Federation, said that in their country the average age of farmers was nearly 60.

“Young people do not want to farm. They do not want to enter a life where long hours of manual labour with hand tools is the norm,” Chibonga told the participants.

Pat Smith, general secretary of the IFA, was at the conference and he told the Irish Farmers Journal that “it is different in Ireland” as young people here want to break into the industry.

“There are a lot of young people with an interest in Irish farming, but that interest can only be realised if the income is viable. It doesn’t matter where you are; farmers must be able to develop a viable income and assistance must be provided. This is being done. Our agricultural colleges are full. The changes that have been made in taxation policy to assist farm families, that is the only way to ensure the next generation will farm. It is happening,” Smith said.

Organising farm transfers

When asked about the consequences of the average farm age being 57 in Ireland, he replied: “Can someone tell me if it was ever 37? People are living longer. The average age is high. But in Japan it is 67. The best way to ensure the next generation gets into farming is to provide assistance. How we are organising farm transfers?”

Smith added that the IFA has offered its assistance and expertise to developing countries.

Only 6.8% of Irish farmers are under the age of 35, while 25.3% are older than 64 – and they are getting older. According to the CSO census of agriculture, the average age of farmers in Ireland in 2012 was 54 for men and 58 for women, compared with 51 in 2000.

The average Irish farmer is slightly younger than our international counterparts.

The average age of farmers in the US is now 58 years. Over one-third of European farmers are older than 65.

Rising average farmer age a risk for global food security

Delegates at Friday's World Food Day conference in Dublin learned that an ageing farm population is a significant stumbling block in the fight against world hunger, writes Paula Melvin.