The European Union is facing a decline in agricultural employment each year. In 2016, only 11% of farms in the European Union were run by farmers under the age of 40, more than half of farm managers in the European Union are 55 years old or older, and nearly a third are 65 years old or older (Eurostat, 2019). Thus, paving the way and ensuring generational renewal in the agricultural sector is a central issue to work on for the maintenance of family farming in Europe.
The objective of these participatory workshops is to exchange and collect best practices and information from the field on current problems especially related to generational renewal within farming communities, to the issue of installation of young people and non-agricultural people in the sector as well as to the transmission of farms. Young people from different educational backgrounds and different localities will show the diversity of cross-cutting solutions to revive EU rural areas, to find innovative ways to transform the governance of food systems and thus to break the siloed approach on agricultural and farming issues.
Year 2023
How to start an agroecological farm? - 30 September in Athens, greece
On 30 September 20203, Agroecology Greece, a network of agricultural scientists, trainers, and producers, organised a workshop in Athens, addressing the most pressing issues facing the farming sector in Southern Europe with a focus on the Greek context. Through a farm visit and world café discussion, workshop participants exchanged experiences and gained organisational capacities on how to build an agroecological farm project as young farmers, discussed barriers, and generated ideas on promising solutions.
The goals of the workshop were to raise awareness of barriers and opportunities of reaching out to policymakers, agricultural advisors, and education and to network and build working relationships for the practical implementation of regenerative ideas created during the workshop.
Germinating Engagement within Agroecology Inspired Community Food Networks –Linking Farmers, Activists, Researchers and Food Communities - On 24 September 2023 in Hungary
On September 24th, 2023 around 30 students, gardeners, farm team members and interested citizens from more than 12 different countries met at Zsámboki Biokert, a 3.5 hectare bio-intensive organic market garden located about 1 hour from Budapest in Hungary. The team was welcomed by the farm and organizing team before starting an introduction activity. Participants were able to describe their current interest and activity
associated with agroecology networks, while also meeting the organic garden’s farm team members. Guests participated in a 3 hour interactive workshop which focused on challenges, opportunities and potential synergies in developing agroecology networks moderated by farm team members and HANA members, before being treated to a lunch cooked with the farm’s organic vegetables and experiencing a tour which introduced
practical aspects of agroecology. The immersive workshop, lunch and farm tour comprised a program which lasted from the morning to late afternoon on a weekend.
Event organised by Zsámboki Biokert and Cargonomia working in cooperation with the Hungarian Agroecology Network and supported by Agroecology Europe.
Agroecology, food, health and well-being in the Spanish territories, for the current and future generations - 12 and 13 May 2023 in malaga, sPain
The workshop was organized during the XXX SEAE’s Technical Conference held in Malaga from 12 to 13 May 2023 aimed to contribute to fairer, safer, healthier, more inclusive and more resilient food systems in Spain, as a real option for current and future farmers. With the aim of enhancing networking of local stakeholders, as well as with different initiatives that share common goals and needs at National and International level, several experiences of young farmers and of elderly farmers that have managed to get generational renewal for their projects through their descendants were presented and discussed with the 37 participants.
Year 2022
Seed sovereignty: just a dream? - 22 October 2022 in Valdibella, Italy
On the 22nd of October 2022, Agroecology Europe Youth Network organized, in collaboration with Valdibella Cooperative, Aterraterra Association and Schola Campesina, a participatory workshop in Italian titled “Seed sovereignty: just a dream?” One of the most discussed and controversial issues in agriculture is seed supply and how peasants cannot produce their own seeds while being dependent on big companies. During this workshop, a simple question was discussed, but with the answer not equally easy: How to achieve patent-free agriculture?”.
Sharing experiences for building an agroecological farm project as young farmers - 8 October 2022 in Nova Milanese, Italy
On the 8th of October 2022, a participatory field workshop was held at Ortofficina Società Agricola with the aim of sharing information and practical knowledge related to the establishment and management of a collectively-run agroecological farm and facilitating the replication of this model in other places.