Description
In the Netherlands, just as in many other areas in Europe, the number of farmers is in decline. Actually, every new generation of farmers is about half the size of the previous one. The continuation of this development seems to be taken for granted. Policies are geared to facilitate this process of scale enlargement of farms. In the RURALIZATION national conference in the Netherlands, it has been discussed whether an alternative future of a growing number of farmers is possible to provide novel opportunities for new generations. Contributors from different origins have discussed the potential of this future also in relation to the desirability in respect to rural development and the Paris climate agreement. This paper analyses the development of the number of farmers in the Netherlands in an European context and categorises the arguments presented by contributors to this conference to look for the conditions, drivers and steps that may shift the downward trend of the farming sizes. The outcomes are discussed in the frameworks of rural development and rural regeneration.| Period | 10 Jun 2021 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Rural and Urban Futures: Place-Based Challenges and Solutions |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Turku, Finland |
| Degree of Recognition | International |