The Common Agricultural Policy puts farmers at the core of its actions. The 2017 Commission Communication “The Future of Food and Farming” credits farmers with guaranteeing food security for over 500 million European citizens and being the first stewards of the natural environment. It fashions the role of the policy to “bring out the very best from the Union’s farm sector and rural area (…) and to support farmers in anticipating and dealing with future relevant challenges and developments.”

The aim of the foresight study is to identify possible future professional roles of farmers in 2040 and to explore resulting potential implications for relevant EU policies.