Around fifty farmers and horticulturists from sixteen countries worldwide are set to participate in the Rabobank-hosted Global Young Farmers Master Class, starting Monday, June 2 in the Netherlands.

The objective of the Master Class is to share and increase knowledge, enabling participants to ultimately contribute to agricultural success.

“The global farmer population is ageing rapidly: more than 50 percent of all farmers in North America, Australia and various European countries are at least 55 years of age. An additional factor is that the number of farmers and horticulturists who provide our food declines by 50 percent every two decades. This means that a shrinking number of farmers are expected to feed a growing number of people. Finding young people who are interested in the farming business has proved to be difficult, as it is a complex profession that comes with its fair share of challenges. Our job is to make the farming business appealing again to a younger generation in the long term, since – let there be no mistake – we desperately need farmers to secure our future.” – Berry Marttin, member of the executive board, Rabobank Nederland and host of this Master Class.

Farm succession is one of the key issues to be discussed during the Global Young Farmers Master Class, along with innovation. During the Master Class, Rabobank will be taking the participants on a tour of the world of innovation, technology, social media and methods for using data.

“The Dutch agricultural industry is ahead of the game in this area and serves as a guide to other countries when it comes to F&A. Young farmers from around the world are therefore eager to visit the Netherlands, to learn from their Dutch peers and share thoughts and ideas. But our own country stands to benefit as well: it is certainly an added incentive to be able to learn about the methods used by these young farmers from across the globe,” said Berry Marttin.

The programme for the Global Young Farmers Master Class includes contributions by leading international scientists, representatives from the business community, and industry experts. The event also includes field trips to various Dutch food & agri businesses.