How to encourage the next generation?

Food the beautiful tarins, watch over the summer sheep in Queyras, or irrigate the beet fields in Beauce… They are 416,702 children of farmers to share their life between the farm, the school, their friends and leisure, According to the MSA (Mutualité Sociale Agricole).

Admittedly, their participation in daily tasks during the holidays does not replace the experience of an adult. But the transmission of gestures, the experience of nature and animals remains a well -established tradition in the families of farmers.

By 2030, half of the producers are expected to retire. Will these youngest take over? At a time when the renewal of generations is far from being assured, the question is crucial. Marius, 13, hopes to join the Motte-Servolex agricultural high school (Savoie), in order to continue the family farming activity. Hallowed hours, short holidays and return of the wolf in the Alps … The difficulties of the profession leave it indifferent.

According to Samuel Pinaud, lecturer at Paris-Dauphine University, who conducted a study within an agricultural establishment in 2024, “adolescents from families of farmers already master the bases, such as driving a tractor. They are almost pros. On the other hand, students not from the agricultural environment-so-called neo-Paysans-do not have these roots and are therefore less experienced.

For her part, Sana, 10, whose mother was a dancer before becoming a shepherdess, loves the sheep but dreams of finding the city to become an actress. Another decor, another fate.