Abstract
Globally, policy aimed at stimulating generational renewal in agriculture is reported to pay meagre regard to the mental health and wellbeing of an older farmer, overlooking their identity and social circles, which are inextricably intertwined with their occupation and farm. This paper, in probing this contentious issue, casts its net across what could be deemed as disparate literatures, namely connected to transferring the family farm and social gerontology, in order to determine what steps could be taken to reassure older farmers that their sense of purpose and legitimate social connectedness within the farming community will not be jeopardised upon handing over the farm business to the next generation. A number of practical ‘farmer-sensitive’ actions that can be taken at both policy and societal level are subsequently set forth in this paper to help ease the fear and anxiety associated with ‘stepping aside’ and retirement from farming amongst older farmers. A particular focus is placed on social and emotional wellbeing benefits of being a member of a social group reflecting farmer-relevant values and aspirations in later life. The potential of the multi-actor EIP-AGRI initiative and the long-established livestock mart sector in facilitating the successful rollout of a social organisation designed to fit the specific needs and interests of the older generation of the farming community is then outlined. In performing this, the paper begins a broad international conversation on the potential of transforming farming into an age-friendly sector of society, in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) age-friendly environments concept.
Highlights
It is widely acknowledged in social gerontology research that social isolation and withdrawal from active engagement is a common occurrence in later life [25,26,27]
The value attached to the social dimension of attending a livestock market is widely reported in the United Kingdom [62,63], and in Ireland, this sector consists of over 60 cooperative mart centres across the Irish countryside. These marts, we suggest, have the capacity and scale to help roll out a national social organisation for older farmers, albeit with some additional government supports that are probably necessary
Overcoming the farming community’s stalwart persistence in their adherence to traditional succession and retirement practices evident in previous family farm transfer research, which effectively obstruct the transfer of farmland from one generation to the is a pressing matter for contemporary generational renewal policy
Summary
Global demographic trends highlight an inversion of the age pyramid with those aged 65 years and over, constituting the fastest growing sector of the farming community [1,2]. The extent to which older farmers themselves can be involved in the coproduction of a comprehensive set of ‘farmer-sensitive’ generational renewal policies and practices at the farm level, which respond to their needs and concerns in later life, will be explored This process, we argue, can have a global reach and could be extended in various ways to other farming communities. Connecting these fields of study is paramount in fulfilling the overall purpose of this paper, as a wealth of peer-reviewed social gerontology journal articles and edited book chapters exists on age-related changes in social activity and engagement in later life, whereas its counterpart from a farming perspective is largely absent This is followed by a series of agri-social policy recommendations aimed at addressing the older generation of the farming community’s social and emotional wellbeing and what this might look like in any future vision for rural society
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