IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v8y2019i4p70-d225149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A “Young Farmer Problem”? Opportunities and Constraints for Generational Renewal in Farm Management: An Example from Southern Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Mathias Eistrup

    (Sic4Change—Social Innovation Cluster for Change, Calle Huertas 9, 35480 Agaete, Spain
    ICAAM—Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal)

  • Ana Rita Sanches

    (ICAAM—Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal)

  • José Muñoz-Rojas

    (ICAAM—Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal)

  • Teresa Pinto Correia

    (Departamento de Paisagem Ambiente e Ordenamento, ICAAM—Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Évora, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Évora, Portugal)

Abstract

The existence of a “young farmer problem” in Europe has been recognized by scientists and policy-makers and is based on the widespread acknowledgement of the poor generational renewal rates in the farming sector and in particular in farmland management across the European Union. Despite existing support policy measures, young farmers (YF) face barriers which hamper the establishment and consolidation of their farming enterprises. Focusing on Alentejo (NUTS II), in Portugal, this paper identifies the difficulties YF face to accessing land, the high investment costs required to set up a farming unit, and the insufficient access to credit as the main reasons why young people are prevented from setting up their farming enterprises. Existing policy support measures targeting YF are widely perceived as inefficient with regard to triggering generational renewal. Hence, our findings suggest that not only is it necessary to pay greater attention to the complex question of land tenure, but that also the impact of policies implemented in the past should be examined in detail in order to develop and implement more effective measures that are sensitive to the different national and regional contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathias Eistrup & Ana Rita Sanches & José Muñoz-Rojas & Teresa Pinto Correia, 2019. "A “Young Farmer Problem”? Opportunities and Constraints for Generational Renewal in Farm Management: An Example from Southern Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-13, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:4:p:70-:d:225149
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/4/70/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/4/70/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Vendryes, 2014. "Peasants Against Private Property Rights: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 971-995, December.
    2. Samir Mili & Javier Martínez-Vega, 2019. "Accounting for Regional Heterogeneity of Agricultural Sustainability in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    3. Veronique Beckers & Jeroen Beckers & Matthias Vanmaercke & Etienne Van Hecke & Anton Van Rompaey & Nicolas Dendoncker, 2018. "Modelling Farm Growth and Its Impact on Agricultural Land Use: A Country Scale Application of an Agent-Based Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Richard Aspinall & Michele Staiano, 2017. "A Conceptual Model for Land System Dynamics as a Coupled Human–Environment System," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-9, November.
    5. Williams, Fiona, 2006. "Barriers Facing New Entrants to Farming – an Emphasis on Policy," Working Papers 46002, Scotland's Rural College (formerly Scottish Agricultural College), Land Economy & Environment Research Group.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Julia Weiss & Livio Ferrante & Mariano Soler-Porta, 2021. "There Is No Place like Home! How Willing Are Young Adults to Move to Find a Job?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-20, July.
    2. Balezentis, Tomas & Ribasauskiene, Erika & Morkunas, Mangirdas & Volkov, Artiom & Streimikiene, Dalia & Toma, Pierluigi, 2020. "Young farmers’ support under the Common Agricultural Policy and sustainability of rural regions: Evidence from Lithuania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ulfia A. Lenfers & Julius Weyl & Thomas Clemen, 2018. "Firewood Collection in South Africa: Adaptive Behavior in Social-Ecological Models," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Jérémie GIGNOUX & Karen MACOURS & Liam WREN-LEWIS, 2015. "Impact of land administration programs on agricultural productivity and rural development: existing evidence, challenges and new approaches," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 96(3), pages 467-498.
    3. Xiaolei Geng & Dou Zhang & Chengwei Li & Yanyao Li & Jingling Huang & Xiangrong Wang, 2020. "Application and Comparison of Multiple Models on Agricultural Sustainability Assessments: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Barasa Bernard & Majaliwa J. G. Mwanjalolo & Banduga Moses & Katwere James & Magaya Paul & Sadadi Ojoatre & Wanjiru Lydia & Margaret N. Walusimbi, 2022. "A Simplified Spatial Methodology for Assessing Land Productivity Status in Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Jacqueline M. Vadjunec & Amy E. Frazier & Peter Kedron & Todd Fagin & Yun Zhao, 2018. "A Land Systems Science Framework for Bridging Land System Architecture and Landscape Ecology: A Case Study from the Southern High Plains," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Peña, Ximena & Vélez, María Alejandra & Cárdenas, Juan Camilo & Perdomo, Natalia & Matajira, Camilo, 2017. "Collective Property Leads to Household Investments: Lessons From Land Titling in Afro-Colombian Communities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 27-48.
    7. Claudia Dias & Ricardo Gouveia Rodrigues & João J. Ferreira, 2022. "Linking natural resources and performance of small agricultural businesses: Do entrepreneurial orientation and environmental sustainability orientation matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 713-725, August.
    8. Egger, Claudine & Plutzar, Christoph & Mayer, Andreas & Dullinger, Iwona & Dullinger, Stefan & Essl, Franz & Gattringer, Andreas & Bohner, Andreas & Haberl, Helmut & Gaube, Veronika, 2022. "Using the SECLAND model to project future land-use until 2050 under climate and socioeconomic change in the LTSER region Eisenwurzen (Austria)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    9. Wenli Cheng & Nan Zhou & Longyao Zhang, 2021. "How does land titling affect credit demand, supply, access, and rationing: Evidence from China," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 69(3), pages 383-414, September.
    10. Dy, Kenneth Bicol & Chau, Kwong Wing, 2023. "Compulsory land redistribution from the perspective of the theory of price control," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    11. Minjie Li & Jian Wang & Yihui Chen, 2019. "Evaluation and Influencing Factors of Sustainable Development Capability of Agriculture in Countries along the Belt and Road Route," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-28, April.
    12. Wineman, Ayala & Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda, 2016. "Land Markets and Equity of Land Distribution in Northwestern Tanzania," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235893, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Yang Tang & Yongbo Yuan & Qingyu Zhong, 2021. "Evaluation of Land Comprehensive Carrying Capacity and Spatio-Temporal Analysis of the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-19, January.
    14. Dhanushki Perera & Ziyad Abunada & Ahmed AlQabany, 2024. "Coupled Human and Natural Systems: A Novel Framework for Complexity Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-24, November.
    15. Chiwuzulum Odozi, John & Uwaifo Oyelere, Ruth, 2024. "Land Access and Poverty among Agricultural Households in Nigeria," IZA Discussion Papers 17230, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Wineman, Ayala & Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda, 2017. "Land markets and the distribution of land in northwestern Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 550-563.
    17. Sahar Shahpari & Janelle Allison & Matthew Tom Harrison & Roger Stanley, 2021. "An Integrated Economic, Environmental and Social Approach to Agricultural Land-Use Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    18. Mason Gaffney, 2016. "Nature, Economy, and Equity: Sacred Water, Profane Markets," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(5), pages 1064-1231, November.
    19. Shilei Wang & Yanbo Qu & Weiying Zhao & Mei Guan & Zongli Ping, 2022. "Evolution and Optimization of Territorial-Space Structure Based on Regional Function Orientation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-26, March.
    20. Rebeka Kovačič Lukman & Vasja Omahne & Damjan Krajnc, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment with Integrated Circular Economy Principles: A Toy Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:8:y:2019:i:4:p:70-:d:225149. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.