The role of collaborative farming in generational renewal and farm succession

An aging farming population and a decline in younger farmers are global issues of concern in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture. A gradual transition to collaborative farming through alternative business structures, which will facilitate generational renewal is underway. However, little is known about the prevalence of such alternative business structures internationally as a dearth of academic research exists in this respect. The objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of the prevalence of alternative farm business structures in Ireland and to compare the Irish case to selected European countries (France, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom). A desk-based research approach is adopted to analyse data from various sources including, agricultural bodies, government departments and international agencies. The findings highlight that the prevalence of alternative business structures across case countries is not uniform, and that potential for growth in collaborative farming exists in Ireland to meet the generational renewal challenge. Gathering accurate and comparable data regarding the prevalence of alternative business structures has been challenging. Consequently, a more uniform classification of the various types of alternative business structures and a more accurate and comparable dataset detailing the prevalence of these business structures, across European countries is recommended.