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This increase is allocated between rural house-
hold members and salaried employees by 85%
and 15% respectively. Therefore, always accord-
ing to official data, agriculture not only preserves,
but also increases employment, in a rather tough
economic situation. This increase is the result of
either the decision of young people to work in the
family farm, or the decision of persons previously
employed in other sectors to work in agriculture
and stock-raising. Thus, in mid-2007 agriculture
apparently started to regain the jobs that had
been lost since early 2006, when the last CAP
reform started being implemented.
That said, let's see how moving back to the land
and its cultivation can be combined with new
ideas and sound entrepreneurship.
The term “other agriculture”, which denotes that
component of the agricultural sector that excludes
the traditional products of the “field” we call
Greece (olive oil, tobacco, cotton, wine), as well
as the term “alternative” crops, are commonly
used by young people who return to the village.
These terms capture local agricultural heritage, soil
condition-based yields, and the end-products'
prospects in both domestic and foreign markets.
On top of the list of crops that may rouse the inter-
est of existing farmers, or attract young or unem-
ployed people to the land, we find products that,
in contrast to the staples produced in Greece, do
not need any subsidization. In this case, young
people who own a small plot in the countryside
and can farm not only for subsistence, but also
market purposes, enjoy an obvious comparative
advantage.
Here are some of the crops of the future:
1. Pomegranates.
In the first two-years, yields can
reach 3,000-5,000 kg per hectare, while after the
fourth year they can even reach 40 tons. Edible
pomegranate prices stand at 1 euro/kg (top qual-
ity), while seeds used for juice extraction are
sold at 0.40-0.50 euros/kg. These prices are
doubled in the case of organic produce.
Trade with Greece
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On top of the list of crops that may rouse the interest of
existing farmers, or attract young or unemployed people
to the land, we find products that, in contrast to the sta-
ples produced in Greece, do not need any subsidization.
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