Agricultural Entrepreneurship Among Rural Youth in Europe: A Pathway to Resilience in Times of Crisis

Abstract

Rural youth are increasingly seen as crucial actors in addressing the structural challenges that European agriculture currently faces. This study explores agricultural entrepreneurship among young people aged 15 to 30 living in rural areas as a possible route towards resilience and rural revitalisation. Drawing on harmonised microdata from Flash Eurobarometer 513, we combine a territorial comparison with an ordered logistic regression to analyse both sectoral preferences and the individual drivers of agricultural entrepreneurship. The results reveal that rural youth tend to show stronger entrepreneurial aspirations and a more pronounced interest in the agrarian sector than their peers in urban areas or towns. Gender, employment status, and national context emerge as significant determinants of their involvement in agricultural entrepreneurship. Taken together, these findings underline the importance of inclusive and place-sensitive policies capable of enabling rural youth to shape sustainable futures within their own communities.