Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Issues related to food supply and food preparedness are increasingly relevant today due to the importance of maintaining food supply in Sweden during critical situations around the world. In times of war and crisis a stable and continuous domestic food production in Sweden is of the utmost importance. To ensure this, a higher percentage of young people needs to be established in the agricultural sector. There are challenges to achieving this goal due to barriers young farmers are facing, such as lack of capital and access to land. Government support targeted for young farmers may contribute to increasing the interest among young people in engaging in agriculture. This study aims to investigate whether the support for young farmers leads to an increase in the share of young farmers in beef production. To investigate this, panel data is used over all Swedish 21 counties over the period 2016 to 2024. The empirical analysis is based on Panel Vector Autoregression and Random-Effects Generalized Least Square. Results of the analysis indicate that the support for young farmers has a positive effect on the share of young farmers in Sweden. Yet, the findings in this analysis indicate that the youth unemployment rate is a more important factor in driving young people into the agricultural sector searching for employment. Furthermore, the results indicate that the support leads to an increase in beef production. This paper concludes that providing support to young farmers can play a significant role encouraging youth engagement in the agricultural sector. Moreover, such support has the potential to enhance and strengthen domestic food production and contribute to long-term food security.