Farm succession

To ensure the continuity of agricultural production it is important that there are enough new farmers who take over when older farmers retire. The decision to set up in farming is not always easy. The factors to be taken into account include the overall profitability and reputation of the sector, the ratio of the producers’ income level to the income level of wage-earners, access to funding and the development of production technology. In addition, growth in the size of farms requires more capital to be invested in agriculture, which means that setting up in farming is a significant financial risk.

Setting up aid is granted to young farmers to promote farm succession. To be eligible a farmer must be no more than 40 years of age and must set up in farming for the first time. Setting up aid for young farmers may be in the form of a grant, interest-rate subsidies for loans and exemption from asset transfer tax.

More information on the conditions and amounts of the aid and the application procedure is available on the website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish). Further information on support for reindeer husbandry is also available on the website of the Finnish Food Authority (in Finnish).

The website of the Finnish Food Authority in English.