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Abstract
As recently as a century ago, one out of two people in Europe was employed
in the agricultural sector. Today agriculture represents only a small fraction of total
employment in most EU member states. What makes this decline in agricultural
employment even more striking is that this evolution has occurred despite substantial
EU subsidies to support farmers’ income. Given the apparent ineffectiveness of government
support in keeping agricultural employment steady, it is worth considering which
farming activities are likely to be successful in the economy of the 21st century. We
argue in this paper that a potential growth path for European agriculture is the «experience
economy» in which consumers are willing to pay premium prices for products
and services that provide additional intangible ‘experiences’. We discuss the growth
potential of the «experience economy» in the agricultural sector and conclude that it is
worthwhile to consider the experience economy as a pathway for future farm growth.