Farm succession and land access dynamics

European agriculture is facing a continued decline in the number of farms and young farmers, with limited access to land identified as a major barrier to generational renewal. These trends have intensified policy concerns, prompting the European Commission to release the strategy for generational renewal, which outlines initiatives to improve land access, including land market assessments and the creation of a European land observatory. This report aims to support these efforts by offering a new perspective on land access dynamics across different phases of the farm succession process. Using a comparative analysis of Belgian (Walloon Region), Irish and Polish Farm Accountancy Data Network data covering 2009–2023, it examines several dimensions of land access, including land utilisation, ownership and rental, considering both the retiring farmer (before transfer) and the new farmer (after transfer). The analysis is structured around a life-cycle framework of farm succession, exploring three mechanisms: the retirement effect, whereby farmers without successors gradually reduce farm activity; the succession effect, where the expectation of farm continuation encourages investment and structural adjustments before transfer; and the successor effect, which captures changes introduced by the new farmer after installation. The report shows that land access dynamics vary across the farm manager’s lifetime, implying distinct needs and challenges at different stages. Identifying a successor prior to farm transfer tends to trigger land expansion and prevents decline. After installation, the new farmer experiences an initial phase of land expansion, which may not occur immediately, probably due to financial constraints. New (non-inherited) farms begin with limited land resources and tend to expand much later than other farms, which significantly restricts their development potential. In some cases, land expansion behaviour, both before and after succession, is more pronounced on larger farms. In addition, new female farmers appear to face greater barriers to land expansion after first installation than new male farmers do. Significant differences between countries in land access dynamics highlight the need for regionally or nationally tailored policies. Because land access varies across phases of the farm manager’s life, policies must target the appropriate phase. New farmers, and particularly new female farmers, may require specific support during the first years after installation, as they face stronger financial constraints and often pay higher land prices, especially in non-inherited farms. In this context, land access and capital access policies could benefit from synergetic design and implementation. Supporting identified successors (and their incumbents) prior to succession could also be considered, as identified successors already exhibit substantial land expansion behaviour.