The 90th Libramont Agricultural Fair opened officially on Friday with a call to young people to consider careers in farming, as the sector faces a worrying shortage of new recruits.
This year’s theme, 'Cultivate your flow,' is aimed squarely at younger generations. Organisers said they want to show that agriculture, forestry and other land-based professions can offer an exciting future.
In his opening speech, Jean-François Piérard, president of Libramont Coopéralia, the cooperative that organises the agricultural and forestry fair, warned that schools and universities are seeing a troubling decline in interest. He said many farms are now struggling to find successors.
A direct call to younger generations
Addressing young people directly, Mr Piérard urged them to be bold. He said these professions are demanding, but offer the unique reward of helping create and sustain life every day.
He pointed to the rare satisfactions of seeing a calf born, watching crops grow, or planting a tree that may not reach full maturity within one’s lifetime. Such experiences, he said, give meaning to life.
The 90th edition of the fair is also Mr Piérard’s last as president.
The opening ceremony was attended by several Walloon ministers and Belgium’s federal agriculture minister.
Unwavering support for agriculture, forestry, rural sector
A film shown during the event traced 100 years of the fair’s history through a mix of present-day testimonies and archive footage. The event’s origins date back to 1926, when breeders of Ardennes draught horses launched the initiative.
Organisers also reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for the agriculture, forestry and rural sectors, which have faced a succession of crises in recent years, including climate-related pressures, animal and plant health emergencies, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and free trade agreements.
Mr Piérard sought to reassure farmers, saying they have the intelligence, expertise and capacity for innovation needed to meet the challenges ahead. He said agriculture and forestry would continue, as they always have, to fulfil their essential role in serving society.
