Brussels – Europe’s farmers are under pressure to increase their output or go out of business, new Greenpeace EU research into farming data has revealed.
The analysis shows a widening divide between struggling, primarily family-run farms and larger farming businesses that capture most of the subsidies and profits generated by the sector.
Researchers found that the number of mega-farms in the EU, with an economic output of over €250,000, jumped by 56% between 2007 and 2022, while the number of farms in the small-scale commercial category (with outputs between €2,000 and €49.999) dropped by 44% over the same time-frame.
This loss of almost two million commercial farms and 3.8 million jobs suggests that the model of small-scale family farming is dying out. At the same time, only 306,000 more people are now employed in mega-farms. Overall employment on commercial farms in the EU dropped by 38% between 2007 and 2022.
Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director Marco Contiero said: “The evidence shows that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to run a small family farm and make a living. The signals from the market, finance sector and public subsidies are clear: go big or go bust. True family farms are in danger of disappearing, and jobs and other benefits to rural communities along with them. Pressure is growing on farmers to ramp up production, even if this can mean exposing themselves to toxic chemicals, mistreating animals, and destroying the soil, water, plants and wildlife they depend on. But no farmer would do this if they had genuine alternatives. Rather than blaming nature protection, governments and the EU must stop bankrolling industrial mega-farms who don’t need the cash, and instead support farmers who are genuinely struggling to stay afloat and want to help restore nature.”
The overall number of commercial farms in the EU dropped by 37% between 2007 and 2022. Small-scale commercial farms still constitute two thirds of the EU’s commercial farms (and more than three quarters in 12 EU countries).
The category of mega-farms, the top 8% of highest-producing farms, with an output of over €250,000, still receive 37% of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy’s subsidies, despite the fact that their average income also increased by 84% during the same 15-year period. The income of the smallest farms in the small-scale category (with an average output of less than €15,000) declined by 18%.
The research also found that the number of largest farms in the mega-farms category (with an output exceeding half a million euro) almost doubled, reaching 117,000. These represent just 3% of EU commercial farms, but account for 39% of the overall economic output of the EU’s agricultural production.
The data uncovered by the research supports the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture – a major cross-sector review of food and farming backed by the European Commission – which call for a fundamental rethink of farming to support the most vulnerable farmers and reward those who protect nature. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has promised to present a new roadmap for EU agriculture and food in the first 100 days of her mandate.
Contacts:
Marco Contiero – Greenpeace EU agriculture policy director: +32 (0)477 777034 [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
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