You are cordially invited to the stakeholders' consultation organised by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) in the framework of the preparation of the CoR opinion on "Generational renewal in agriculture", following the publication of the European Commission Strategy on 21 October 2025.
Europe’s agricultural sector is facing a growing generational gap as fewer young people choose to enter farming. In 2020, just about 12% of farm managers in the EU were under 40, and among them just 2.5% were women, according to Eurostat.
Mr Emiliano GARCÍA-PAGE SÁNCHEZ (ES/PES), President of Castilla-La Mancha, would like to collect your views on the Strategy's objectives and proposed actions to support young and new farmers and attract more people to farming.
To support the drafting of the CoR opinion on this topic, the rapporteur wishes to gather your views on the following questions, and any additional points you would like to raise:
- What are, in your view, the main barriers to the entry of young people (access to land, financing, profitability/income, administrative burden, services, other) and to what extent do these factors influence the social perception of agriculture and the ability to attract new entrants?
- Which regional/local instruments have been most effective (land banks, mentoring, training, tax incentives, cooperativism, etc.) and why?
- How can the future CAP post-2027 strengthen the ‘welcome package’ and ensure sufficient and stable funding for installation?
- Which national legislative reforms on farm transfer (taxation, retirement, leases) would be prioritised?
- What mechanisms can be put in place (or have been more effective) to provide attractive and sustainable outlets for older farmers who transfer their farms to young farmers?
- What measures (housing, connectivity, services, other) are considered essential for the installation to be consolidated and not just a statistical ‘high’?
- How should local and regional authorities be involved in future national plans for generational renewal (governance, indicators, evaluation, other)?
- What specific measures are most effective in increasing the inclusion of young women and addressing gender inequalities in rural areas?
- What role can cooperatives and producer organisations play in your territory to facilitate the entry of young people, support marketing and improve market access and bargaining power?
The consultation will take place on the CoR premises at Jacques Delors building, room JDE 51, and will be held in English and Spanish.