In the Greek Countryside: Towards Modernization, Specialization, or Abandonment?

The Greek rural world, marked by the dominance of small private ownership, developed its agricultural activities in lowland regions. Livestock farming, once present in mountain areas, has followed the same path towards intensification. The analysis of such an increased specialization resulting from the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) requires a regional approach. Whereas cultivated areas decreased, forest covers expanded in remote places, almost completely covering terraces and rangelands. Similarly, scrublands, fallow fields, and “fuzzy spaces” developed in the urban outskirts. Statistics show a decrease in the number of farms over the long term. The downward trend accelerated in the last 15 years and even went faster with the crisis, while many publications mention a “get back to the land” of city dwellers over the same period. What is it really like? The Greek rural world has suffered a shock, adding to an early abandonment. Some of the most important crops almost disappeared, such as tobacco. This paper aims to analyze the situation of the Greek countryside in conjunction with that of small and medium-sized cities that manage original production networks and to offer clarification about this spectacular evolution beyond apparent contradictions.