The structure of ageing in Swiss agriculture

Abstract

Farm managers on average are getting older. This demographic development represents a challenge for the sector that is additional to or even exacerbates other factors including low profitability and the impact of climate change. This study disentangles ageing by looking at the development of key components. These are the age of a person handing over the farm, the age of new and exiting farmers as well as entry and exit rates. The descriptive analysis of the demographic development in Swiss agriculture during the period 2004–2020 is based on data from public administration of direct payments. The increase in the average age of farm managers in Switzerland is explained by increasingly older farm managers who hand over or give up the farm. The age of farm successors and new entrants is increasing slightly. Increasing rates of farmer managers leaving farming together with decreasing shares of new entrants into farming further contribute to increasing the average age of farmers. The analysis also shows that handing over the farm to someone not much younger, usually the female partner, also contributes to ageing. The ratio of old to young farmers increases sharply from 1.8 to 2.7. Swiss agriculture such as the European agricultural sector faces a high number of pending farm transfers in the years to come. The higher participation of younger farm managers in environmental and animal welfare programs opens up the possibility for agricultural policy to align farms with the objectives of the transformation in the course of the handover. The results are relevant for the management of structural change in agriculture and in particular for the design of support for young farmers. The results highlight the effects of age-specific direct payment policies, in particular Switzerland's unique rule of stopping payments at age 65, on farm transitions. Insights from the Swiss case provide broader lessons for the design of agricultural policies in Europe and beyond, offering strategies to address ageing farm populations, promote generational renewal, and support the transformation of food systems.