AI, Gaming, And Young Ambassadors To Steer £5.1m Farming Recruitment Drive

A new £5.1 million research project will explore how artificial intelligence (AI), video games, and young farmer ambassadors could help attract more young people into agricultural careers.

Image: James Hutton Institute

Led by the James Hutton Institute, the Farm Heroes initiative aims to tackle one of the sector’s most pressing long-term challenges: recruiting and retaining the next generation of farmers.

The four-year project, which launches in October, will investigate how young people perceive farming, and what changes they believe are needed to make the industry a more attractive career choice.

Those findings will inform a review of the higher education agricultural curriculum; using a large language model (LLM) to assess how well existing training programmes align with young people’s expectations and the future needs of the sector.

“Enabling a diverse group of young people to enter the sector – and supporting current successors to thrive – is crucial to enabling innovation and resilience in the agricultural sector,” commented Professor Lee-Ann Sutherland, who is leading Hutton’s involvement.

With labour shortages, an ageing farming population, and succession planning continuing to challenge agriculture across the UK and Europe, the project seeks to identify new ways of engaging younger generations and ensuring education and training are better aligned with the skills required by the industry of the future.

Researchers will work directly with groups of young people to develop a picture of how they want farming to evolve in the future. 

The project will also examine whether popular video games such as the Farming Simulator series can help spark interest in farming careers, a move which reflects growing recognition that digital platforms may play an increasingly important role in engaging younger audiences.

Alongside boosting overall recruitment, Farm Heroes will place a particular emphasis on improving gender diversity by encouraging more women to consider careers in agriculture. 

Farm Heroes brings together 15 partner organisations from across Europe, and will be funded through the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.

The James Hutton Institute will receive €1 million (£853,000) to lead its contribution to the project, with the remaining funding set to be distributed among the consortium's European partners.