This is the third in a series from Bermuda's Food Sovereignty Forum, which aims to highlight the importance of food sovereignty for Bermuda's future. This series will feature opinion pieces from farmers, activists, community leaders and residents across the island, sharing the challenges, opportunities and solutions on the path towards a more resilient, self-sufficient food system. To learn more or get involved, e-mail the committee at foodforumbda@gmail.com

Think back to a time when you were asked, or have asked, a young person what career they are interested in pursuing.

Their answer will naturally be influenced by many things: their exposure to different professions, the influence of their family and community, and, obviously, the financial remuneration attached to the career they are considering.

Now think about all the ways that “mainstream” careers show up in the lives of young people in Bermuda.

They see doctors at the hospital or clinic, corporate careers in advertisements, teachers in their classrooms, civil servants in their communities and tradesmen building and repairing the environment around them.

Now think about how a young person is exposed to agriculture as a career.

Not as a hobby. Not as an annual event at the Botanical Gardens. Not simply “gardening”.

Agriculture as a career. An answer to that question becomes much less obvious.

A young person might encounter agriculture through a school garden, a family member who grows vegetables, a farmers’ market, a landscaping job, a horticulture class, an environmental club or a field trip to a farm. They may experience these things without ever realising where those skills could lead them.

The problem is not necessarily that opportunities do not exist; it is that they can feel fleeting, appearing as isolated experiences. Without a clear pathway of progression from exposure to skill-building, education and eventually a career, agriculture can remain hidden in plain sight.

Bermuda’s employment data suggests the career pipeline into agriculture needs strengthening. The 2024 Employment Survey recorded 33,451 filled jobs. Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing accounted for 192.

But the broader Skilled Agricultural and Fishery Workers occupational group included 763 jobs across Bermuda, covering agricultural, horticultural, landscaping and fishery occupations. Of those, 353 roles were held by Bermudians. Among those workers, only 21 were aged 18 to 26, while 137 were 55 or older.

I don’t share these statistics to suggest that every young Bermudian should become a farmer. However, it does mean we should be paying more attention to a remarkably thin youth pipeline in an industry connected to something as fundamental as feeding ourselves.

Globally, agriculture is facing a similar challenge. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations’ (FAO) 2025 report on youth in agrifood systems highlights the need for young people to help replace an ageing workforce while adapting agriculture to climate change, technological change and increasing demands on food systems.

Part of the reason agriculture doesn’t seem like a worthwhile career to pursue is that we have an outdated understanding of what agriculture actually is. Modern agriculture requires people who understand biology, soil science, water management, environmental systems, business, logistics, data, technology and climate resilience.

Students studying these disciplines are often encouraged to consider career pathways in areas such as ESG, sustainability consulting, environmental policy or agricultural insurance.

These are legitimate and increasingly important professions. However, there is an important distinction. The concern is when students are shown how their skills can be used to advise on agricultural systems, but opportunities are less often shown to build, operate, research or innovate within those systems, we end up creating an imbalance within the labour force.

This is where Bermuda has an opportunity to rethink the way we build career pathways.

At Bermuda College, students can pursue science programmes connected to biology and earth and environmental science, while its Certificate in Basic Horticulture provides a more direct route into practical plant and land-based careers.

But that pathway could begin much earlier. Agriculture does not need to be a stand-alone programme or a one-off school activity; it can be woven through students’ academic journey, using subjects they already take. The goal should be to make agriculture a growing option students encounter over time, rather than an isolated experience.

Bermuda cannot replicate the scale of larger agricultural economies, but our size can allow us to experiment, creating spaces where young people, farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs and technologists work alongside one another.

Bermudians trained in these fields could also take those skills into international agriculture, research, technology and sustainable development.

Creating these spaces matters because careers rarely begin with an actual career. They begin with exposure. That is why the question of youth and agriculture cannot simply be, “Are young people interested?”

We should be asking: “Have we actually given them enough opportunities to test their competencies and see what is possible within this industry?” What we interpret as disinterest may be a lack of exposure, understanding and opportunity to see what a future in agriculture could look like.

Acknowledging these realities should not lead us to conclude that agriculture in Bermuda has no future. It should encourage us to build a better one.

• Zayne Sinclair is a Bermudian community development advocate, social innovator and entrepreneur focused on sustainable development, youth engagement and building more resilient island communities. He was the founder of Sinclair’s Seed Sowing, an edible-landscaping initiative. His work is grounded in the belief that Bermuda’s future depends on creating practical pathways for young people to participate in building the island they will inherit