One in eight of the national workforce is employed in food and farming, but an astonishing 40 per cent are over 50 years old. The agricultural and horticultural sector is turning very grey, very quickly. If nothing is done to remedy this ageing demographic, we will have a workforce crisis in less than half a century. With food and farming worth in excess of £108 billion to the UK economy, and with Brexit hovering in the not so distant future, this is something we cannot afford to happen.
So let’s do something about it. The sector is diverse, but daunting. Being from a farming background gives you a huge advantage in the sector, and you become fluent in the dialect of hectares and tonnage from a young age, without even realising. But for new entrants to the industry, it is a lot more difficult. I call it the ‘agricultural matrix’. Getting a job without experience – impossible. And getting experience without a job – impossible. This ‘matrix’ immediately excludes new entrants to the sector, who haven’t had the privilege of growing up in a food or farming family.
We must create opportunities for new candidates to join and shape our industry, and the perfect place to start engaging our future leaders is at school: let’s get agriculture back on the curriculum.
Northern Ireland already offers agriculture as a subject in many of its schools. New Zealand too. So why is England so far behind? Why are we not investing in our younger generation?
In an A Level biology specification, the word ‘agriculture’ is mentioned only twice. The first is discussing the ethical issues behind recombinant DNA technology, and the second evaluating data relating to agricultural practices affecting the rate of photosynthesis. These are both arguably integral learnings that people in the sector should have an understanding of, but it hardly inspires students to venture into the industry.
Schoolchildren are incredibly impressionable, but with agriculture and food only peppered throughout the curriculum, how are they meant to know about the opportunities? From finance to farming, marketing to managing, procurement to project planning, the sector is so diverse.
Teaching agriculture as a subject at schools will help inject more young people into the sector, and to dispel the dissonance between those that farm, and those that don’t. Anne Milton, the minister for apprenticeships and skills, spoke recently about introducing T Levels (technical A Levels), which could encompass agriculture and horticulture in the future. It’s a step in the right direction, but I do not believe it is enough. For those with a background in farming, it may work perfectly, but for those that have no experience, it is surely an intimidating option to take post-GCSEs. Instead of attracting a new intake to the industry, I fear it may drive them away.
However, by offering a solid foundation in the food and farming sector at GCSE and A Level across the UK, new entrants will have a sound knowledge of the farm-to-fork process, which they could build on with degrees, or perhaps even T Levels, in a similar field of study.
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