The average farm size in the EU has increased by 3.8% per year in recent years, and the standard economic output has increased by 5.2% per year, according to the latest EU Agricultural Economics Brief, published recently by the European Commission.
Based on the most recent available statistics (2010), the Brief confirms that there is a higher rate of change in the Member States that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, with a rise in economic output of more than 10% in a handful of member states – albeit from a much lower base.
In terms of age structure, the report shows that around 30% of farm managers are over 65 and confirms that smaller farms tend to be held by older farmers. Other figures show that the average size of organic farms is greater than the average for all farms taken together. In 2010, there were 12 million farms in the EU-27, stretching over 172 million hectares of land and employing 25 million people.
Despite the on-going consolidation process, farming in Europe is still carried out primarily on small or very small holdings.
Approximately 70% of all farms in the EU-27 work less than 5 ha of agricultural land, and only 2.7% have more than 100 ha. Significantly, holdings with less than 5 ha occupy only 7% of the total agricultural area in the EU, while the small group of holdings of over 100 ha accounts for 50% of total utilised agricultural area (UAA).
(Source – Farming Life – 06/11/2013)
MED Partnership name is derived from the three waterways that traverse the area; the Melvin, the Erne and the Duff
