In this article, “What do the powers that be have planned for Greek Agriculture?”, author Pavlos Georgiadis analysis the negative consequences of the neoliberalisation of Greece on agriculture, a situation which will be much worsened after the recent accord:

He writes that:

“Despite the potential of our land, Greece now imports the majority of its food and on average we are the second most obese people in the EU. These abnormalities are largely attributable to the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, which has supported the growth and development of a very narrow range of large-scale monocultures, almost entirely for export purposes. The failures of the CAP have had a profound effect not only on our food culture and agricultural skills, but also on the landscape of the country. In just three decades, Greece has lost most of its local agricultural varieties and almost all of its dry land, low-input agriculture was pushed out of the market. In Crete, a large number of two-thousand-year-old olive trees were turned into firewood, within a very short period of time.”

He also proposes a counter-strategy in the following video presentation. His idea also involves the creation of an innovation cluster of “Food Hubs” across Greece. These Food Hubs are physical meeting spaces for startups, social enterprises, investors and food communities, with the aim to generate opportunities for youth in the food economy.

For updates on Plan C (i.e. commons-centric) proposals regarding Greece, see our page here.

Watch the video here: