ACADEMIA Letters

A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL

RELIEF AND THE INSTALLATION OF YOUNG
PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE
Germano Pollnow

Introduction
The aging of the agrarian population and the shortage of young people in agriculture are topics
that are on the agenda of many countries and in Spain it is no different. According to Castillo-
Quero and Guerrero-Baena (2019), 33.7% of Spanish farmers are over 55 years old and 6.9%
are under 35 years old. In addition, the authors point to the decreasing trend in the weight of
young farmers and the progressive increase in older farmers.
A study by Flament, Macias and Monllor (2016) indicates that if in 2003, for every 100
holders of agricultural holdings over 55 there were 10.3 young holders, in 2013 that same
index fell to 4.5. The document adds that the percentage of holders with 55 years or more
increases while the percentage of holders with less than 35 years is decreasing.
Extrapolating the trend for the next few years, these data indicate that a large part of Span-
ish farmers will be retired. This does not imply that they will be retired from agriculture, but
that the agrarian population will be with the most advanced average age and will be increas-
ingly impregnated with attitudes not very prone to innovation.
It is a worrying situation influenced by distinct factors: low profitability and economic
uncertainties in the sector; difficulties of access to land; the unattractiveness of the rural world
for young people; legal aspects related to hereditary succession, etc. In this sense, the objective
here is to analyze the different dimensions that affect generational change in Spain, based on
the results obtained from the methodology presented below.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Germano Pollnow, germano.ep@outlook.com

Citation: Pollnow, G. (2021). A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL RELIEF AND THE
INSTALLATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE. Academia Letters, Article 2435.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2435.
1
Methodology
The present work has been conceived within the framework of a sandwich doctorate through
the Institutional Program of Internationalization of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de
Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES-PrInt, Brazil). The program made it possible to develop an
international comparative study on generational change in agriculture in the extreme south of
Brazil and Spain, involving the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel, Brazil) and the Institute
of Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC, Spain). Thus, the research is part of a doctoral thesis
work linked to the Postgraduate Program in Production Systems Family Agricultural (UFPel,
Brazil).
A bibliographic review on the subject was carried out, as well as interviews in Spain with
representatives of professional agricultural organizations, experts on the subject, a represen-
tative of the European Committee of Young Farmers and with the Minister of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food of Spain. From the analysis of this information, it was possible to raise
the discussion that follows.

Discussion
It is true that there are more vigorous sectors in the Spanish agricultural sector and groups
of farmers that, thanks to economies of scale, cooperation, differentiated products, etc. they
resist competition in the markets quite well. But the shortage of young people interested in
agriculture is a fact and a situation of obvious concern.
The importance and urgency of generational change is due to several reasons: some, re-
lated to technological and management change in agriculture, and others, associated with the
continuity of family farming models. Regarding the first, it must be said that, without young
people at the forefront of agriculture, it is not possible to face challenges such as digitization,
climate change or ecological transition. Regarding the second, without young people running
family farms, there is a risk that they will not have continuity, which could lead to negative
effects on the rural depopulation suffered by Spain. It is probable that many farms, upon the
death of their owners, will be acquired by other farmers with greater resources, favoring the
concentration of ownership and modifying the landscape of certain territories.
Until now, this matter has been approached from economic incentives, an example of
which is the CAP aid for the installation of young people, which has been applied for several
decades and which will be reinforced in the next period (2021-2027). These measures had
little effect on the generational renewal of agriculture, forcing the problem to be tackled in all
its complexity.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Germano Pollnow, germano.ep@outlook.com

Citation: Pollnow, G. (2021). A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL RELIEF AND THE
INSTALLATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE. Academia Letters, Article 2435.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2435.
2
 According to Moyano and Pollnow (2021), some of the factors that influence generational
change and the incorporation of young people into agriculture are economic in nature (such
as the low profitability of many farms), but others may be legal in nature, such as the difficulty
of accessing property within the framework of a family succession or the rigidity of the land
market (MAPA, 2021). There are also cultural factors, such as the low attractiveness that
agricultural activity has for young people and the low social recognition that the agricultural
profession receives (IESA, 2008 and 2009).
Regarding economic aspects, the aforementioned MAPA study (2021, p. 13) points out
that “access to land is the most important barrier for young farmers to join the agricultural
sector”. The immobility of the land market and the high price for acquisition and/or rental
make it difficult for young people to join agriculture. It should be added that the impasses
for young people to access credit also hinder their incorporation into the agricultural sector,
compared to the high investments necessary even to access land.
In addition, the low profitability of many farms is undoubted, which was strongly ex-
pressed in the agrarian mobilizations of the past 2020. However, the action of the public
power is only possible in some of the points demanded by the farmers. In others, such as
setting minimum prices for agricultural products, this is not possible due to the free trade and
competition framework in which the European Union operates (Moyano, 2020). The prof-
itability of agriculture goes beyond political action and requires the agricultural sector itself
to organize itself to seek more efficiency in its relationship with the other links in the food
chain. And, for this, dynamic, enterprising, innovative and cooperative farmers are needed.
Regarding legal factors, there are those that favor the division of property among the heirs,
which does not help the generational change. That is why in this area of inheritance law there
is much to do to facilitate that the succession in the ownership of a farm can be carried out by
giving priority to that member of the family who wants to settle as a farmer.
Training is another prominent issue. Today’s agriculture requires more complex knowl-
edge that was not so necessary a brief time ago. Although the transmission of popular knowl-
edge from one generation to another is essential, current ways of managing agricultural hold-
ings force farmers to acquire new knowledge about the market, digital tools, taxation, and
innovative technologies.
Cultural factors have to do with the predominance of values associated with urban culture
to the detriment of agrarian and rural culture. The lights of cities continue to be a great
attraction for young people, not only in relation to leisure and recreation opportunities, but also
because of the greater and better basic services and the belief that in cities there are greater
opportunities for employment and professional development. Along with this, it is a fact the
low social value that the agricultural profession receives, occupying the lowest positions in

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Germano Pollnow, germano.ep@outlook.com

Citation: Pollnow, G. (2021). A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL RELIEF AND THE
INSTALLATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE. Academia Letters, Article 2435.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2435.
3
the scale of values of the professions.
Furthermore, intra-family relationships also must be in the focus of the analysis because,
many times, the children do not have the due space within the farms to implement their ideas
and they do not have their own income. On many occasions, the work of children, especially
young women, is considered as “family help”, which implies a situation of invisibility.
To all this should be added the difficult access of new farmers to economic aid from the
CAP, as these are still reserved for holders with “historical rights”. Consequently, this also
makes access to land difficult for new farmers.
The generational change and the incorporation of young people in agriculture is a great
challenge, which must be faced with coordinated policies in the different areas of public action.
In Spain, generational change is a problem in all regions, so it would have to be undertaken
on a national scale, although its implementation must be done on a regional scale.

Conclusions
The issue of generational development and installation of young people in agriculture is not an
easy challenge. But it is necessary to face it from all its complexity in the face of the challenge
of the great changes that the agricultural sector is experiencing. The issue should be part of
public policies, but inclusion should not be an end in itself, but the basis for designing a
national strategy that mobilizes society as a whole and allows Spanish agriculture to be filled
with new blood.

References
Castillo-Quero, M., & Guerrero-Baena, M. D. (2019). Caracterización estructural, produc-
tiva y financiera de las explotaciones de jóvenes agricultores. ITEA-Información Técnica
Económica Agraria, 115, 62-82.

Flament S., Macias B., & Monllor N. (2016). Incorporación de los jóvenes al campo en

España. Estudy for Mundubat y COAG. 159 pp. Available at: https://www.mundubat.org/
proyecto/incorporacion-de-jovenes-al-campo-en-espana/. Accessed in May 2021.

IESA. Institute for Advanced Social Studies. (2008). Agrobarómetro de Andalucía 2008.
Encuesta a agricultores, Reports and monographs IESA, E-0825, Córdoba, Spanish, 81
pp.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Germano Pollnow, germano.ep@outlook.com

Citation: Pollnow, G. (2021). A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL RELIEF AND THE
INSTALLATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE. Academia Letters, Article 2435.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2435.
4
IESA. Institute for Advanced Social Studies. (2009). Agrobarómetro de Andalucía 2009.
Reports and monographs IESA, E-0932, Córdoba, Spanish, 58 pp.

MAPA. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain. (2021). Estudio sobre el acceso
a la tierra. Focus Group on Access to Land, Madrid, Spain. 146 pp. Available at: https://
www.mapa.gob.es/es/desarrollo-rural/temas/jovenes-rurales/grupo-acceso-tierra/. Accessed
in May 2021.

Moyano, E. (2020). “Las reivindicaciones agrarias: entre el deseo y la realidad”, Agronego-

cios, 02/05/2020. Available at: https://www.agronegocios.es/las-reivindicaciones-agrarias-
entre-el-deseo-y-la-realidad-eduardo-moyano-estrada/. Accessed in May 2021.

Moyano, E., & Pollnow G. (2021). “¿Cómo logramos que los jóvenes apuesten por la agricul-
tura?”, El Diario Rural, 01/28/2021. Available at: http://eldiariorural.es/como-logramos-
que-los-jovenes-apuesten-por-la-agricultura/. Accessed in May 2021.

Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0

Corresponding Author: Germano Pollnow, germano.ep@outlook.com

Citation: Pollnow, G. (2021). A VIEW FROM SPAIN ON THE GENERATIONAL RELIEF AND THE
INSTALLATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN AGRICULTURE. Academia Letters, Article 2435.
https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2435.
5