The need for the farming and food sector to attract our brightest and best young people is obvious.

Meanwhile, it's that time of the year again where the school exam season is just around the corner.

Traditionally, the results of these exams confirm the tremendous academic achievements that so many of our young people attain, year-in, year-out.

This is further backed up by the strong achievements obtained by those young people who want to follow more vocational careers.

It is so important for this pool of talent to be drawn down from and fully utilised within the farming and food industries.

Career opportunities

The opportunities that currently exist within production agriculture and the food processing industries are immense.

The world needs fed in a wholly sustainable manner. This is the true challenge of the 21^st century.

Coming up with the relevant solutions will require both new thinking and absolute ingenuity on the part of those involved. 

So, yes, farming and food are both growth sectors within the economy. But it is only by attracting our brightest and best young people to these industries in the first place that such prospects will be fully realised.

Making this happen will require representatives from production agriculture and food processing to go out into our schools and tell students from all backgrounds about the good news that lies at the heart of these two vibrant industries.

Northern Ireland agri-food sector

Teachers must also be enthused to tell the good news about farming and food in Northern Ireland. Both sectors contribute a staggering £6.5 billion to the local economy.

And the potential to grow this figure into the future is immense.

This will be driven by the evolution of more efficient farming systems and adding value to the food and drinks that we produce.  

But this is only part of the story. Further efforts must be made to create fulfilling career opportunities for any young person who might think about entering the world of farming and food.

And the provision of bespoke training and further education opportunities within both industries must be fully aligned with these aspirations.

The end game here is to provide courses and training opportunities that will be actively sought out by the brightest and best of each generation.

New thinking drives every sector of the economy. So the option of bringing young people from outside the traditional farming communities into the industry makes so much sense.

Generational renewal

So much for the theory: at a very practical level there is an elephant in the room, which must be addressed.

The average age profile of farmers in Northern Ireland is far too old. This figure is now creeping up to 60 years-of-age: it is shockingly high

The need to bring greater numbers of young people into production agriculture is obvious.

And this means giving real responsibility to the next generation when they are still filled with that vision and sense of purpose that is so associated with youth.

If farming cannot achieve this objective, then the industry will be left with only one end game - stagnation.