Institutional Innovation for Youth-Appealing Farming in Japan: An Overview of How European Countries Attract Youth to Agriculture

抄録

The agricultural sector in several countries in the Western world faces a two-sided problem: the aging of farmers and the shifting of the younger generation toward other sectors. In Japan, this issue is accentuated by the shrinking of the agricultural workforce, as the number of young new farmers has been declining significantly since 2016. Farming is, above all, an entrepreneurial activity, as it requires investment, risk-taking, and management skills. Over the years, Japan has consistently ranked low in terms of youth entrepreneurial intentions. This study suggests that the lack of attractiveness of farming activities to the younger generation is tied to the generally low entrepreneurial orientation of youth in Japan. Considering that European countries succeed in attracting and retaining more youth as agricultural entrepreneurs and workers, this study answers three questions: What are the characteristics of young professionals evolving in agriculture in European countries? What strategies have these countries implemented to attract younger generations to farming? What assets can a country like Japan mobilize to make farming more appealing to its youth? We analyzed the policies and farm business environments in selected European countries where youth are increasingly represented in agriculture. To this end, we followed the PSALSAR methodology to search, appraise, synthesize, analyze, and report the results. Countries included in the overview were France, Germany, Finland, Austria, and Poland. Ultimately, this study discusses how Japan can concretely address this issue to guarantee its future competitiveness and improve its self-sufficiency by attracting young professionals in agriculture. By analyzing the European Common Agricultural Policy (2023-27) and national institutional innovations of selected countries, the review finds that incentives are more effective than financial grants in attracting and retaining young people in farming.