“Encouraging the establishment of young people in agricultural businesses: this will be one of our main objectives and we will allocate a total of 40 million euros to it. An investment to support generational change and meet one of the major needs and challenges for the sector, both to incentivize the maintenance of competitiveness and to guarantee a more sustainable future”.
The vice-president and councilor for agri-food Stefania Saccardi said this while speaking this morning at the conference “Between exchange and generational turnover: ideas for young farmers” organized by the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Florence.
The conference highlighted the issue of the lack of turn-over in agriculture, a phenomenon widespread throughout the European Union and the situation in Italy is particularly critical, especially in the Center and North-East. A framework to which the Tuscany Region has also responded through interventions within Giovanisì, the project to support the autonomy of young people.
In Tuscany, from the latest agricultural census, it emerges that the companies run by agricultural entrepreneurs under the age of 41 are only 9% of the total. In fact, the aging of agricultural entrepreneurs (two thirds of agricultural farmers, in fact, are over 60 years old) continues to constitute a limit for competitiveness and innovation, causing the agricultural sector to lose potential: the scarce presence of young people in agriculture is a negative element due to the resulting effects also in terms of abandonment of the territory with consequent reductions in economic activities and loss of entrepreneurial dynamism in rural areas.
“For this reason, in the new EAFRD programming, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 2023-2027 – continued Saccardi -, in continuity with the previous programming, the strategy for young people in agriculture and generational turnover will be implemented in Tuscany mainly through the support for the establishment of young people in agricultural businesses. We will allocate resources equal to approximately 5.3% of the total public spending on rural development for Tuscany to this intervention, compared to 4.3% at a national level. And with the next call, which will be released by the end of July 2024, we will simplify access to resources for the first settlement by young people. Today’s opportunity will allow us to discuss with other Regions, with Universities but above all with associations of young agricultural entrepreneurs to better understand how to facilitate generational turnover, also in view of the next calls that will follow one another in the 2023-2027 programming ”.
“In agriculture – concluded Saccardi – young people are important because they are “digital”, they have a greater propensity for innovation, they are oriented towards multifunctionality and are capable of networking, diversifying sources of income and producing value for the territory. They are attentive to the environment and believe in the values of sustainable agriculture. For this reason they contribute to the socio-economic cohesion of rural areas and represent the key to building future agriculture”.
The Earth Bank
To encourage the entry of young people into agriculture and overcome the limitation linked to the availability of land, the “Earth bank” of the Tuscany Region was created in 2013: an innovative tool promoted by the regional administration and managed by Ente Terre structured as a complete inventory and updated on the offer of public and privately owned land and agricultural companies available for rental or concession operations.
The instrument aims to make land, buildings for rural use and agricultural companies available to those who need them, with a priority aimed specifically at young people (but not only).
Access to land is considered one of the main needs of young farmers. The initial investment in land capital certainly represents an obstacle for starting new businesses or expanding existing ones, considering that it often requires large sums.
To date, 68 young people have obtained the assignment of the assets placed in the land bank, of the 162 lots assigned in total (equal to 42%). There is talk of 4,405 hectares of land assigned to young people (44.5%)
Tuscany among the top regions for presence of female entrepreneurs
In the Rural Development Program (PSR) 2014-2022, the Tuscany Region has paid much attention to the issue of generational turnover, in particular with the publication of four calls for support for the establishment of young people in agricultural businesses. With the four calls released in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2022, approximately 1,000 young people were funded, for a total contribution granted of approximately 117 million euros.
The valorisation of the female entrepreneurial component is important, far from being small. The incidence of female agricultural entrepreneurs in Tuscany has increased compared to 2010 and is now 32% of the total (around 16 thousand companies), a figure that places Tuscany among the top regions in Italy for the role of female entrepreneurship in agriculture.
