Farmer Creusa Braga do Nascimento with her animals in Acre, Brazil. Photo by Kate Evans / CIFOR-ICRAF

It may seem unlikely that a television series could spark meaningful discussions about farming in Europe, but Clarkson’s Farm — now in its third season — has proven to be fertile ground for such conversations. Connecting the show with our previous research offers a new perspective on the role of farming in society. It might turn out that everyone ultimately pursues the same goals, which suggests the need for a renewed approach to the sector as a whole. 

For the past decade, we’ve been working in the Global South to understand farmers’ aspirations and better align agricultural projects with the realities and aspirations of farming households. These efforts are mirrored in Jeremy Clarkson’s journey from former car enthusiast to farming aficionado on his hit show. This prompted us to look into European farming communities, revealing that farming is about much more than a job and simply producing food.

Farming appears to be one of the occupations that triggers views and strong opinions across society. Among various non-farming groups, there is increasing pressure to adopt greener, more sustainable practices to mitigate the effects of climate change, reduce pollution and loss of biodiversity, increase animal welfare and maintain or enhance the amenity value of the countryside and rural landscapes. These views align with the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy, which deploys policy, financial instruments and campaigns towards these goals. Food prices, meanwhile, have become a hot topic among both consumers and politicians, especially after the dramatic spike in food price inflation in 2023. Farmers are caught in between these societal pressures of keeping food affordable while needing to invest in new farming methods to comply with new environmental regulations and demands. Farming families, however, already rely on income diversification and subsidies to sustain their livelihoods, as returns from their production alone are insufficient to support a reasonable standard of living. While Clarkson, obviously not a typical farmer and not facing the same financial pressure,  also struggles with setting up additional revenue streams—such as a farm shop and a restaurant to create synergies with his farming endeavours—he too is burdened by the administrative complexities tied to subsidies.

Although farming in Europe differs in many ways, the per-hectare profitability of farming without subsidies is unexpectedly similar to that of farming in the Global South, where we have worked for decades. However, family farms in Europe are significantly larger and subsidies play a crucial role in Europe’s agricultural landscape. In both regions, farming is a culturally embedded enterprise, with society as a whole acting as a stakeholder, as farming impacts everyone in multiple ways. 

In farming communities, as in any other, culture, society and financial resources shape what individuals aspire to do with their lives and the opportunities available to them. This is where our research on the aspirations of farming households started. Our studies in Kenya and other parts of the Global South have shown that farming is more than a job; it is often a way of life. Despite the hard work involved, farming continues to interest young people and remains integral to their sense of belonging, fulfilling multiple roles in their lives—even though farming on small plots of land alone is insufficient to generate revenues that would lift people out of poverty.

Farming in Europe, too,  is more than a job for many farmers. Here, we see opportunities to contribute to debates within Europe using the methods we have established. Common assumptions about farmers’ motivations and their visions for the future – their aspirations – may be flawed and starting conversations from the perspectives of farming families could help to sketch out the way forward towards a sustainable future that satisfies the needs of all stakeholders. Assumptions that farmers are unwilling to address environmental and sustainability issues and therefore need to be restricted by legislation and regulation, are unlikely to hold true. It is possible that any farming households’ current decisions are primarily driven by subsidy maximisation. A better understanding of their ‘true’ aspirations and the underlying drivers of their choices could provide a more informed starting point for conversations that bring all stakeholders to the table, helping to identify shared goals and trade-offs between involved.

There is evidence suggesting that there is no fundamental disagreement on the need for more environmentally friendly production practices. While farmers take pride in producing food for their nation, many European farmers have a deep-rooted appreciation for nature, perhaps even more so than the general public, as it forms the foundation of their livelihoods. However, financial pressures currently limit their ability to prioritize environmental, social and landscape gains over production. Family farming is already financially precarious and subsidy mechanisms appear to be one of the key decision-making factors.

Focusing on deeper drivers of behaviour—such as traditions, values, culture, future visions and aspirations—of all stakeholders in the agricultural arena could support novel views towards co-designing new futures. We have already gathered such evidence from the South and believe that applying these insights in the North could accelerate the transition in Europe.

European farmers’ sense of agency in their farming operations is often constrained by policies and regulations that have developed over decades, now being used to bring about radical change. This perceived lack of agency in their own business decisions may partly explain the frequent, widespread and strong protests in the sector. In public debates, the implicit undertone of the conversation is that farmers are portrayed as intentionally harming the environment if left unchecked. On the contrary, farmers are likely more aware of nature’s value than many others, given their close relationship with it and dependence on it. This is especially frustrating for those working on farms that have been family businesses for generations and who wish to pass them on to the next generation.

Similarly, farming families in the Global South may also be sympathetic to calls for sustainability, climate change mitigation, etc., although they have even fewer opportunities for change. Such households also face greater challenges than European farm households in supplementing their incomes through off-farm work, such as employment on other farms or by diversifying farm assets for activities like petting zoos, soft-play barns, farm parks, accommodation, tourism, rewilding, or additional value-chain activities such as farm shops, cheesemaking, and restaurants—similar to what Clarkson has done on his farm.

Peoples’ aspirations reveal what they would like to achieve if given realistic opportunities and resources. Our work in eliciting the aspirations of members of farming families in the Global South has provided us valuable insights into why farmers make the choices and these choices relate to other drivers of behaviour within their socio-economic and political context. Surprisingly, prompted by a farming show led by someone known for his love of fuel-guzzling supercars, we have become even more convinced that applying our approach to European farming communities could provide novel and useful insights that benefit all stakeholders. This could inform the redesign of political instruments such as the Farm to Fork Strategy, helping to overcome tensions by aligning with shared values and goals.