Tory MPs have warned of risks to Britain’s food production because of plummeting numbers of young farmers joining the sector.
The number of agriculture workers aged over 50 has since increased by one-third since 2005 while the number below 25-year-old has dropped by a fifth, think tank Onward said.
Derek Thomas MP said: “It’s only right that farmers feel able to retire knowing that the years of nurture of their land and the production of the food we need can be handed on to the next generation. Sadly, we know young people can’t get the land, finance or experience to take up the mantle of feeding Britain.”
“County and tenant farms used to be the best routes into farming, but many councils sold off their land and high rents make starting out a risky business.”
Nearly three in ten farmers are over 65 – compared to just four per cent of workers across the whole economy.
Only six per cent of farmers are under 25 compared to 10 per cent of all working adults.
Siobhan Baillie MP said: “Young people are passionate about nature and the environment. Shows like Clarkson’s Farm and Instagram have also brought the world of agriculture alive. It’s hard graft but rewarding with high skilled tech, science and feeding the nation on the daily to do list.”
“Yet there are too many barriers to getting into the business, so it’s still an older profession or for those with family farms.”
“Farmers are also buffeted by high costs, changeable conditions and squeezed by supermarkets. Unless we foster young people’s green enthusiasm and give them the tools to become farmers, then English agriculture’s demographic crisis will only worsen and we all suffer.”
Onward has proposed that the young farmers get offered grants of up to £7,500 to rent tenant farms for their first three years.
The average farm business tenancy agreement costs £7,700 per year.
The grants will remove the risk and replicate the success of a Japanese grant scheme which saw the number of young farmers more than double.
Onward has also called for the Government to replicate the success of a Northern Ireland scheme which brought 125 deals between young and older farmers.
Baroness Rock said: “Tenant farmers are the backbone of British agriculture, responsible for producing up to two-thirds of the country’s farmland.”
“But they face profound challenges from high costs to climate change while aspiring young farmers find it difficult to get started at all. Onward’s proposals to put farming on a sustainable footing, including helping young people to rent a tenant farm is a welcome idea.”
