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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Ruth McAreaveyORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Generational renewal is increasingly recognized as a crucial challenge for the future of agriculture. Recent literature has placed growing emphasis on the importance of farmer identity as a key dimension shaping young people’s interest in agriculture, their approach to farm management, and their long-term commitment. This study contributes to the debate by proposing an analysis of generational renewal through the lens of identity theory. Specifically, the research explores how farmer identity is constructed, negotiated, and validated by three distinct groups of young people: successors, potential successors, and new entrants. Twenty semi-structured interviews have been conducted with young people as categorized above in rural areas of Sicily. The study identifies four cases that illustrate how differences in self-concept, alignment with symbolic role standards, and processes of internal and external recognition shape individual engagement in agriculture and generate concrete implications at the farm level. Results reveal four distinct identity pathways - Redefining, Held-Back, Hesitant, and Self-Made - each associated with different forms of engagement and farm-level outcomes. Accordingly, this study provides policy-relevant insights for each case, emphasizing the need to promote initiatives that support young individuals in developing renegotiated and enduring farmer identities.
Author(s): Consentino F, Peri I, Brunori G, McAreavey R
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Sociologia Ruralis
Year: 2026
Volume: 66
Issue: 4
Print publication date: 01/10/2026
Online publication date: 20/07/2026
Acceptance date: 26/06/2026
Date deposited: 31/07/2026
ISSN (print): 0038-0199
ISSN (electronic): 1467-9523
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.70049
DOI: 10.1111/soru.70049
Data Access Statement: The data generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available to protect the confidentiality and privacy of research participants. Anonymised data may be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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