Fewer young Australians enter the agricultural industry

A study by Australia’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has found that the number of young people interested in becoming farmers or agriculturists has continued to decline since 1991, and therefore the population of farmers over the age of 65 years has increased (Rural Diversity, RIRDC, Issue No. 14, Summer 2014).

The report “New Entrants to Australia’s Agricultural Industries – where are all the young farmers?” examined the demographics of the farmer population between 1976 and 2011 using Australian Bureau of Statistics population census data. It covered 8 census data periods. The study examined the extent of ageing in the Australian farm sector, and the influencing factors.

The study found that the number of farmers aged under 35 years had fallen by 75% since 1976, and thus the number of farmers aged over 65 years had increased by 55%.

Longer years in education have meant that people under 25 years are not entering the farm industry – and fewer opportunities are also an inhibiting factor. With older farmers staying in the industry, to retain financial independence, the opportunities for young farmers has declined. In addition, the increasing age of first marriage in Australia (i.e. getting married in the late 20s instead of earlier) has reduced the number of young female entrants into farming.

Since 2001 there has been an asset price bubble in the land market, the baby-boomer farmer population has reached retirement age, the Australian dollar temporarily rose in value to parity with the American doller, there has been a global financial crisis, and Australia has had a decade-long drought in large parts of the agricultural nation. Each of these influences may have re-shaped the demographic structure of the Australian farm population.

Despite the decline and the numerous factors, the study concluded that there was little cause for concern in linking the ageing farmer population and low recruitment of young people with issues over food security. However, the changes in the demographic structure of the farming industry will have implications for rural communities, including the types of services and support that may be required in the future.

http://www.rirdc.gov.au

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

The Beggars' Strike by Aminata Sow Fall: book review

The Beggar’sStrike (1979 in French and 1981 in English) is set in an unstated country in West Africa in a city known only as The Capital. Undoubtedly, Senegalese author Sow Fall writes of her own experiences. It was also encapsulated in the 2000 film, Battu , directed by Cheick Oumar Sissoko from Mali. Mour Ndiaye is the Director of the Department of Public Health and Hygiene, with the opportunity of a distinguished and coveted promotion to Vice-President of the Republic. Tourism has declined and the government blames the local beggars in The Capital. Ndiaye must rid the streets of beggars, according to a decree from the Minister. Ndiaye instructs his department to carry out weekly raids. One of the raids leads to the death of lame beggar, Madiabel, who ran into an oncoming vehicle as he tried to escape, leaving two wives and eight children. Soon after, another raid resulted in the death of the old well-loved, comic beggar Papa Gorgui Diop. Enough is enou

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog