Young farmers join CEJA's demands to the European Commission

Lithuanian Union of Young Farmers and Youth (LUYFY) leader Rūta Jurgaitė and board member Vytenis Grigas participated in the European Young Farmers' Organisation (CEJA) working group in Italy.

The working group approved the documents submitted to the European Commission on ensuring generational change in rural areas.

CEJA proposes to apply the definition of active young farmer to farmers who meet the following criteria: Age criteria, leaving the Member States the right to decide on an age limit of between 35 and 40; The farmer must be the manager of his/her own holding; Possesses the necessary skills and competences in accordance with the requirements laid down by the Member State.

„We have been actively involved in discussions with young farmers in other countries on the content of the document and have come to the unanimous conclusion that young farmers in Europe face 4 main challenges: limited access to land; lack of financial resources; unattractive and underdeveloped infrastructure and availability of services in rural areas; an outdated system of agricultural education; and a lack of availability of relevant and up-to-date information to young farmers. The document makes proposals to the European Commission on how to effectively address the existing problems and ensure generational change in the countryside. CEJA expressed the need to allocate at least €28 billion of the Common Agricultural Policy basket to young farmers," notes Rūta Jurgaitė, President of LUFA.