I remember a while ago, the satirical column of a certain newspaper poked fun at a Commission press release, which announced that one of my fellow Commissioners was going to visit Belgium. This, said the journalist, was foolproof evidence that the Commissioners did not work as much in Brussels as they would like the rest of the world to believe.

This was rather selective reading of course but there may just be a grain of truth in it. Although I spend most of my time in Brussels, visits to the Belgian countryside have been far less frequent that I would have liked. That is why I jumped at the opportunity to go on a field trip in the north of Belgium, guided by a bus full of young Flemish farmers. We visited a family business that produces conference pears. We saw a blue cattle producer and an azalea potted-plant producer. I learned a lot of new things from these farmers but certainly also from chatting to the rest of the young farmers as we drove through the flat Flemish landscape.

Visiting young farmers always gives me great hope for the future of European agriculture. It is very up-lifting to talk to enthusiastic famers who are not afraid of taking on challenges and responsibilities and who want improve farming traditions and techniques.

Of course it is not all a bed of roses. Starting up a farm business from scratch is extremely difficult and even for those who take over the family farm; the current business climate is quite a minefield to operate in.

Few would dispute that young farmers are the future of European food production and it is crucial that we pay attention to their particular needs. We have to ensure a stable policy environment. Young farmers (as well as the older generation) need predictability when planning new investments. Now that prices have become as unsteady as the weather, this is probably truer than ever.

One of the concrete measures we have taken recently is to boost the start-up aid for young farmers in connection with the Health Check – from 55.000 € to 70.000 €.  Gradually phasing out milk quotas towards 2015 will also favour the younger generation of dairy farmers who will not have to take on additional cost to enter the market or to expand their businesses.

One of the things that made the biggest impression on me during my visit in Flanders was the wealth of ideas that the young farmers had when it came to improving the CAP and farming conditions in general. I am sure that this is not only the case in Flanders so I hope that young farmers throughout Europe will engage in the debate and come forward with their ideas on what European farming should be like in the future.

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