agreste

Agreste cahiers n° 3 - juin 2005

Out of ten farm holders who began farming between 1989 and 1997, seven declare that farming is their main occupation, the others being inactive, retired, or working in a profession with no direct links to agriculture.

Out of ten farm holders who began farming between 1989 and 1997, seven declare that farming is their main occupation, the others being inactive, retired, or working in a profession with no direct links to agriculture. The « professional » installations are still in large part due to young people succeding their parents. However, during the 1989-1997 period, a slight trend towards the opening of farming to individuals who do not come from agricultural backgrounds can be noted. These people settle on less than 15 hectares in half the cases ; the majority of them have no agricultural training, and the durability of the farm is not always assured : nearly 40% of those who began farming in 1989 and 1990 were no longer holders of the farm that they had taken over 7 or 8 years earlier.