AgrotechMogale Maleke of AB Farms designs water-saving hydroponic units that work where power is unreliable, and advises new growers to start small and find buyers first.
CropsSpeakers from PAFO, AUDA-NEPAD, FANRPAN and food-heritage groups said climate-resilient indigenous crops such as sorghum could become profitable, nutritious food products if young people take up their value chains.
CropsIn Gaibandha, a district of fertile silt and wide chars, uncertain incomes, rising costs, poor prices and low social standing are pushing young people out of farming, and agronomists see a risk to food security.
CropsBarry Callebaut's Asia Pacific cocoa chief Angela Gubser says volatility will persist, high prices have not always reached farmers, and cocoa in Indonesia now competes with durian, rice and oil palm.
OpinionIn a Farmers Weekly column, Jess Tilley-Moore, who came to farming at 17 and now has her own Greyface Dartmoor flock, argues the industry must welcome newcomers.
OpinionIn a Manitoba Co-operator column, Janelle Rudolph argues that most farm advice is aimed at the generation that owns the farm, and that successors need to learn the farm's finances, ask why ideas are refused and build their own ties with advisers.
LivestockThando Soroshi of Lady Grey in South Africa's Eastern Cape now keeps about 2,000 broilers, a pig herd producing some 300 piglets a year, sheep, goats and cattle, and runs a shisanyama.
AgrotechAutoSpray Systems and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs have launched a Defra-backed scholarship giving five YFC members CAA-approved, Lantra-accredited spray-drone pilot training worth £17,500 in total.
AgribusinessThe National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs wants the share of under-35s in agriculture tripled to 15% by 2036, and asks for council farms, fair grant access and key-worker status for farm staff.
AgribusinessMinister Martin Heydon told the Dáil the scheme for farmers shut out of young farmer supports paid €2,225,000, with Donegal the top county; 809 of 1,254 applications were ruled ineligible.
AgribusinessA European Commission Joint Research Centre survey of 885 people aged 18 to 40 found 93% think farming matters, but only 5.5% have concrete plans to farm and 52% see farm incomes as low.
LivestockWith his three children settled in other careers, Roundup rancher Bill Milton is looking for a young outsider to help run the family ranch and earn equity in it, an approach he says agriculture needs more widely.
AgribusinessPractical Farmers of Iowa's two-year Savings Incentive Program pairs mentoring and business training with a dollar-for-dollar match for farm investment, as land access remains the biggest hurdle for beginners.
