Return to the land

Greeks return to farming as country leases agricultural land

Against a backdrop of soaring unemployment, business failures and biting austerity, Greeks are returning to farming as a way of making a living.

Digital Journal,

20 March, 2012

Athens News reported that the Greek Payment Authority of Common Agricultural Policy Aid Schemes (OPEKEPE) has received 4,000 applications for leases for state land for farming. The scheme to lease land was launched 20 weeks ago.

OPEKEPE says "Parcels will be distributed to unemployed people, young farmers, Geotechnical School graduates, professional farmers, charging 5 € per acre per growing season. According to the ministerial decision, maximum total area of owned and/or leased land is 100 acres per person."

Officials say they hope to lease 10,000 plots of agricultural land. The New York Times reported that the Greek agricultural sector is one of the few areas to see growth during the economic crisis, with 32,000 new jobs added between 2008 and 2010.

As the situation becomes increasingly difficult in the cities, many are returning to the countryside. Figures cited by Athens News show more than 1.5 million people in the cites have expressed an interest in farming in the countryside.

The move could lessen Greece's dependence on food imports, in addition to boosting food exports. It will also contribute to the restoration of lost jobs in the sector which declined considerably in the last decades of the twentieth century. Greece famously produces and exports olive oil, but other agricultural ventures include cotton, tobacco, and fruit. The Greek wine industry has a lot of potential too.

A reduction in dependence on food imports could also assist in reducing prices for the Greek consumer, as Digital Journal reported prices are often double the European average.