Small farms managed by young farmers under new "farm-to-fork" strategy

The Farm-to-Fork strategy, being an essential part of the European Green Deal (EGD), aims at accelerating the transition toward sustainable food systems that can ensure food security while reducing food systems’ environmental and climate footprint and increasing their resilience at the same time. Many EU working documents emphasise the benefi ts of the EGD strategy for the farmers, food industry, and consumers; however, it is also reported that the strategy may have negative impacts on European agriculture, including a reduction in agricultural production and a decrease in the income of agricultural producers. On the one hand, due to production scale and age constraints, small farms managed by young farmers could be strongly affected by the consequences of Green Deal strategies. On the other hand, a long-term business perspective, as well as human capital, are crucial factors affecting the successful implementation of the Farm-to-Fork strategy. Both issues are embodied in young farmers. The general idea of the book is to identify the long-term viability of small farms managed by young farmers under the Farm-to-Fork strategy in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Lithuania. The conducted research allowed us to determine the role of young farmers and small farms in the agricultural sectors of the analysed countries. Production and economic situation, as well as the level and forms of public support dedicated to those farms in order to improve their market position and socio-economic sustainability, were discussed. The potential development prospects of small farms run by young farmers were also presented. To sum up, some recommendations were formulated for economic practice and agricultural policy decision-makers regarding good practices of cooperation in the food supply chain and the instruments used to support the surveyed group of farms. The book is addressed to a wide range of readers interested in the issues of small farms run by young farmers, opportunities and challenges related to their sustainable development, and agricultural policies aimed at this group of actors in the food supply chain. This book may also be of interest to academic staff and students of economic and agricultural programmes of studies, as well as farmers and their representatives and decision-makers in the fi eld of agricultural policy