To: The United States House of Representatives and The United States Senate
Tell Policymakers: Support Young Farmers Around the Globe!
Two and a half billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Globally, the average age of farmers is 55. With global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, government leaders need to support more new and young farmers entering the field of agriculture.
The future of farming depends on younger generations—people who see agriculture as an opportunity and something they want to do rather than something they feel forced to do. These new farmers need tools, resources, and support to be successful.
Tell government officials: Young and new farmers need government support to nourish future generations!
The future of farming depends on younger generations—people who see agriculture as an opportunity and something they want to do rather than something they feel forced to do. These new farmers need tools, resources, and support to be successful.
Tell government officials: Young and new farmers need government support to nourish future generations!
Why is this important?
It’s time for a revolution in the food system—young and new farmers need support to nourish future generations. Farmers, businesses, policymakers, and educators need to promote agriculture as an intellectually stimulating and economically sustainable career, and to and make jobs in agriculture and the food system “cool” for young people all over the world.
With a rapidly aging population of farmers, it’s time to attract more young people to agriculture. This is a global challenge; half the farmers in the United States are 55 years or older while in South Africa, the average age of farmers is around 62 years old.
“Agriculture has an image problem,” according to the organization Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). Yet, according to the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 27 percent of the world’s population is under 10 years old while only eight percent is over 65 years old.
“For decades, poor farmers were seen as a problem to be solved. But where and when people and governments have been able to give them the support they need and have understood that family farmers are, in fact, part of the solution, we have seen promising results,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
It’s time to cultivate the next generation of food system leaders—young farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, agronomists, extension agents, educators, researchers, scientists, and policymakers who can create a more sustainable food system.
“Increased access to education means that young people can be a force for innovation on family farms, increasing incomes and well-being for not only farmers but also for local communities. Young people can develop the agricultural sector by applying new technologies to current work methods,” says Mark Holderness, Executive Secretary of GFAR.
Agriculture means more than subsistence farming. Today, young people can explore career options in permaculture design, biodynamic farming, communication technologies, forecasting, marketing, logistics, quality assurance, urban agriculture projects, food preparation, environmental sciences, advanced technologies, and more.
With a rapidly aging population of farmers, it’s time to attract more young people to agriculture. This is a global challenge; half the farmers in the United States are 55 years or older while in South Africa, the average age of farmers is around 62 years old.
“Agriculture has an image problem,” according to the organization Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD). Yet, according to the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), 2.5 billion people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 27 percent of the world’s population is under 10 years old while only eight percent is over 65 years old.
“For decades, poor farmers were seen as a problem to be solved. But where and when people and governments have been able to give them the support they need and have understood that family farmers are, in fact, part of the solution, we have seen promising results,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
It’s time to cultivate the next generation of food system leaders—young farmers, agricultural entrepreneurs, agronomists, extension agents, educators, researchers, scientists, and policymakers who can create a more sustainable food system.
“Increased access to education means that young people can be a force for innovation on family farms, increasing incomes and well-being for not only farmers but also for local communities. Young people can develop the agricultural sector by applying new technologies to current work methods,” says Mark Holderness, Executive Secretary of GFAR.
Agriculture means more than subsistence farming. Today, young people can explore career options in permaculture design, biodynamic farming, communication technologies, forecasting, marketing, logistics, quality assurance, urban agriculture projects, food preparation, environmental sciences, advanced technologies, and more.