Europe has lost almost 40% of its farmers in twenty years

Omissions

• The claim refers to 'farmers' but the Eurostat data refers to 'farms' - these are related but distinct metrics (one farm may have multiple farmers, or one farmer may manage multiple farms).
• The 39% figure covers the period 2005-2023 (18 years), while the 37% figure covers 2005-2020 (15 years). The MEP mentioned 'twenty years' which would extend the period slightly beyond the latest available Eurostat data at the time of the speech.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat - Farms and farmland in the European UnionBetween 2005 and 2023, there was a loss of 5.6 million farms across EU countries, equivalent to an estimated decline of 39%.
• PrimaryEurostat News - EU farms: 5.3 million fewer in 2020 than in 20055.3 million fewer farms than in 2005, equivalent of a decline of about 37%.