At the OECD Global Forum on Agriculture, WFO President Arnold Puech d’Alissac called for concrete action to make farming a career of choice for young people, ensuring generational renewal and the long-term vitality of rural areas worldwide.

At the OECD Global Forum on Agriculture 2025, the President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), Arnold Puech d’Alissac, highlighted the urgent need to attract new generations to agriculture and secure the vitality of rural areas worldwide.

The OECD Global Forum on Agriculture is an annual platform for international dialogue on agricultural policy, bringing together policy makers, experts, farmers, and private sector representatives to explore transformative solutions for sustainable agriculture and food systems. This year’s edition, themed “Attracting New Farmers for the Future of Agriculture,” addressed the challenges of an ageing farming population, farm succession, and generational renewal, while examining how to make the sector more appealing and viable for new entrants in an increasingly digital era.

The average age of farmers worldwide exceeds 60, and in Europe, only 6% are under 35 — a trend that poses a serious challenge to food security and the resilience of rural communities. “Young farmers are not the future — they are the present of agriculture,” stated President Puech d’Alissac, calling for a shift in mindset to make farming a viable and meaningful business that feeds the world and protects the planet.

Generational renewal is essential to preserve both knowledge and innovation. Young farmers bring digital skills, creativity, and fresh perspectives, helping to make agriculture more sustainable, resilient, and competitive. Yet, they continue to face major barriers — from limited access to land, finance, and markets to persistent perceptions of farming as low-status and high-risk.

Ensuring access to land, finance, and education — the three pillars of empowerment — is therefore key to enabling young people to enter and thrive in the agricultural sector.

WFO’s flagship capacity-building initiative, the Gymnasium, demonstrates how investing in youth leadership can make a tangible difference. To date, it has trained over 70 young farmers from 28 countries, offering access to high-level training, mentorship, and international exposure across more than 40 global policy events. By connecting young farmers to global debates, the Gymnasium equips them with the confidence, knowledge, and networks to influence decision-making and shape the future of agriculture.

Farmers themselves also have a crucial role to play in inspiring the next generation. Building intergenerational partnerships, strengthening cooperatives and youth networks, engaging in joint advocacy, and celebrating success stories are key to showing that farming is a profession of opportunity, pride, and purpose.

Achieving generational renewal requires enabling environments — investment in rural infrastructure, connectivity, and education, fair access to land, finance, and innovation, and stronger youth associations and farmers’ movements. Partnerships between governments and the private sector are equally vital to design policies and programmes that make agriculture a career of choice for young people.

“If we want a sustainable and resilient food system, we must make farming a career of choice — where young people can see not just a job, but a future they want to build and lead,” concluded President Puech d’Alissac.

Image courtesy of Elisabeth Hiden (The Federation of Young Swedish Farmers & CEJA Young Farmers). Copyright not verified.