Highlights report - 2nd meeting of the Thematic Group on Valuing Farmers’ Wider Contributions to Society

The second and final meeting of the Thematic Group (TG) enabled members to review the outcomes of the work undertaken since the 1st TG meeting.

The event opened with the European Commission (DG AGRI) highlighting the importance of making the farming profession more attractive, especially to younger generations, as well as the importance of food security in the context of global instability. TG members then shared the outcomes of the informal discussions held in between the two formal TG meetings, which focused respectively on ‘Strengthening the connections with the society' and ‘Rebranding farming as an attractive career choice for young generations’.

TG members and a guest speaker then delivered inspiring presentations on how farming could be better promoted, also through storytelling and by using CAP support. Inspiring examples include the Dutch farm de Biesterhof, a land cooperative focused on increasing biodiversity; Herenboren, an innovative participatory concept that directly involves people in farming; and successful communication activities by the Flemish National Network (Belgium). Farmer and storytelling expert Hannelore Akkermans shared her story with Volle grond – a community rooftop in Antwerp, Belgium – and offered useful tips for successful communication.

The ensuing discussion highlighted the importance for farmers to have support from a dedicated person or community with sufficient time and skills to engage with the public, allowing them to concentrate on their main job. It also emphasised the usefulness of financial support for farmers’ marketing and relevant training on communication.

Members then worked in five parallel teams to discuss the most efficient way to communicate about farming from the perspectives of different stakeholders: farmers, farm advisors, educators, public administrators and journalists. Using a participatory method, the groups worked towards developing actionable proposals that were refined and published on the TG landing page.