Highlights report - 1st meeting of the Thematic Group on Gen Z: Leading Generational Renewal in Farming

The first meeting of the Thematic Group (TG) on Gen Z: Leading Generational Renewal in Farming offered opportunities for interaction, exchanges and active discussions among TG members - mostly young farmers and youth representatives from rural Europe - to discuss “future farmer” profiles.

The meeting opened with an overview of the current CAP policies aimed at fostering generational renewal in agriculture. An open plenary discussion followed, in which TG members highlighted specific challenges to generational renewal in agriculture, including access to credit and land, the reluctance of older farmers to retire, and mental health issues. From TG members' perspective, a “future farmer” combines a focus on sustainability with an entrepreneurial mindset, a balance between modern technologies and traditional practices, and a vision that extends beyond mere profitability and embraces community and collaboration as values.

TG members used the interactive group discussions throughout the day to explore challenges and opportunities coming from the three megatrends impacting farmers today and in the future: climate change, consumer demands, and technological innovation. They also defined five different farmer profiles and looked at motivations, strategies, and skills that can help them evolve over the next 10 years.

The insights gathered during the meeting will contribute to the policy discussions at the second TG meeting and will feed into the outputs produced by this Thematic Group.