Understanding the complex process of generational renewal (GR) in agriculture is essential for supporting the continuation of farming. This paper demonstrates how multiple factors, simultaneously and through their mutual interactions, influence GR and related individual decision-making processes. Results originated from 155 in-depth interviews performed on 85 farms in eleven European regions, and were triangulated with the literature. Our analysis, combining inductive and deductive approaches, revealed three conceptual phases (successor identity formation, farm succession process, and farm development) and fourteen factors important to understand GR. We elaborate how these factors interact, hence exert their impact on (one of) the phases in a complex and variable way. Implications highlight potential pitfalls and opportunities for attracting people into agriculture. Although policy-makers should be aware of their limited ability to affect GR by targeting the first phase, we propose some ideas that would complement current existing measures acting on the third phase.

了解农业中世代更新 (GR) 的复杂过程对于支持农业的延续至关重要。本文展示了多个因素如何同时并通过它们的相互作用影响遗传资源和相关的个人决策过程。结果来自对 11 个欧洲地区的 85 个农场进行的 155 次深度访谈，并与文献进行了三角测量。我们的分析结合归纳和演绎方法，揭示了三个概念阶段（继任者身份形成、农场继承过程和农场发展）和 14 个对理解遗传资源很重要的因素。我们详细说明了这些因素如何相互作用，从而以复杂和可变的方式对（其中一个）阶段施加影响。影响突出了吸引人们从事农业的潜在陷阱和机会。尽管政策制定者应该意识到他们通过针对第一阶段影响遗传资源的能力有限，但我们提出了一些想法，以补充当前针对第三阶段采取的现有措施。