Food & Drink
The ‘young farmer problem’
Engaging a new generation of agricultural professionals is critical to Europe’s farming future.
3 July 2025
This article first appeared in our Organic September 2025 issue of My Green Pod Magazine. Click here to subscribe to our digital edition and get each issue delivered straight to your inbox
In a world grappling with climate breakdown, soil degradation and biodiversity collapse, organic farming offers a glimmer of hope.
Yet organic land only averages 2.1% globally; here in the UK, just 3% of our farmland is organic.
Even the EU’s 10.5% organic farmland is still far short of its Farm to Fork goal of 25% by 2030.
The Farm to Fork strategy – to ‘create a food system with a neutral or positive environmental impact’ while also providing fair economic returns for producers – will bring benefits for the climate, biodiversity, food security, public health and the affordability of food.
So what’s going wrong – and how can we fix it?
When Defra released its Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2024 report, the headline stats were modest.
503,000 hectares were farmed organically in the UK – up just 1% on 2023.
62% of that land was used for permanent pasture (including rough grazing), with cereals (just 10%), vegetables and fruit trailing behind.
This is is a picture of glacial progress. Why?
Farmers have been speaking out about the stop-start nature of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI).
Imagine pouring your heart into an application only to have the door slammed in your face when the funding cap is blown through.
That’s exactly what happened in March 2025, when the SFI paused new applicants mid-season, prompting outrage from the NFU and grassroots groups alike.
‘Farmers felt betrayed’, admits a farmer who grows organic oats on the rolling Somerset hills. ‘One minute you’re planning rotations; the next, you’re back on conventional inputs.’
That kind of uncertainty crushes confidence, and with organic conversion requiring a multi-year commitment, no one wants to dive in without assurance that the money will keep flowing.
Eurostat data show that the area of EU land used for organic agricultural production continues to rise, totalling 16.9 hectares in 2022.
That represents 10.5% of the EU’s total utilised agricultural area (UAA) – and is an increase of one million hectares since 2021.
27% of Austria’s total utilised agricultural area is farmed organically.
The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy can be seen as a driving force behind these figures, ring-fencing €49 billion for eco-schemes and tying payments to clear targets. No wonder uptake has soared.
These differences aren’t mere statistics; they translate to real-world outcomes.
Organic soils hold more carbon, support richer biodiversity and demand fewer synthetic inputs.
If the UK were to nudge its organic share from 3% to 10% by 2030, we could lock away an extra 100,000 tonnes of carbon per hectare annually and slice farm-gate greenhouse gas emissions by 4%.
That’s not small potatoes, it’s a genuine lever on our 1.5°C ambitions.
So what lessons can the UK steal from its friends in Europe (and beyond)?
Ring-fencing organic conversion payments would be a good place to start.
Scotland’s Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) pays up to £140 /ha for arable conversion; England’s SFI offers no organic-specific premium.
A dedicated organic line in Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMS) would remove competition with low-input options.
We also need to set a clear acreage target; NGOs lobby for a 10% UK target by 2030.
Without a political north star, schemes wobble with each Spending Review.
Metrics and accountability are key; why not tie payments to measurable soil-carbon gains or biodiversity net-gain scores?
Transparency can breed trust, and market-pull could be mandated.
Denmark requires 60% organic in school meals; the UK could follow suit and even apply the target more widely – in hospitals and universities by 2027 – to stimulate domestic demand.
Finally the USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative injects $300 million into mentorship and research.
A scaled-up UK version would support farmers through conversion’s trickiest phases.
Yes, organic farming has sometimes been seen as a niche boutique exercise – but if we treated it as a systemic policy instrument, rather than a luxury add-on, we would unlock co-benefits for climate, nature and rural livelihoods.
And frankly, at 3% penetration there’s nowhere to go but up.
So, here’s a question to leave on your mind: if soil is the foundation of our future, why are we skimping on its care?
ABOUT NEEL ZAVER
Neel Zaver is a biologist and creative who is using his work to showcase the inspiring work of organisations around the world for the environment, conservation and our planet. His goal is to instil hope by profiling those working to create a positive future for us all.
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