Domestic and donor-driven development agendas for African agriculture are spurring smallholder family farming as a catalyst for food security and poverty reduction. Family farms are also the backbone of agriculture in the European Union, although the process of concentration has gone further than in Africa. European agricultural policy reforms now...

All businesses need to innovate if they are to thrive, and family farms are no exception. By thinking ahead and developing new approaches, farmers can increase output, develop new and improved products, diversify and tap into new income streams, and remain environmentally sustainable. Innovative farms are more likely to weather...

Sheep farming is an important agricultural activity in Greece, since it contributes significantly to the country’s gross agricultural production value. Recently, sheep milk production received further attention because of the increased demand for feta cheese and also because of the excessive price level suffered by consumers, in contrast with the...

These report analyses trends regarding farms specialized in olive oil production over the period 2000-2010. It analyses structures, costs of production, margins and income indicators. The objective is to identify the characteristics of farms in economic difficulty and those in a better situation. The main source for this report is...

Water scarcity and society’s urgent need for increasing water quantity and quality – considered to be very significant public goods – force scientist and policymakers to reexamine and exclude water-demanding cultivations from areas with water scarcity. 

Les terres agricoles subissent une pression croissante à la suite de l’étalement urbain et résidentiel, du développement du tourisme et de la modification des formes d’usages des espaces ruraux, et ce quel que soit le niveau de développement des pays. C’est dans la perspective d’apporter des connaissances utiles aux décideurs...

Rural women’s small businesses engaged in the production of local agri‐food products have been flourishing in the Greek countryside the last years responding to an emerging consumer demand for food of “specific quality”. Such successful initiatives have been particularly developed with co‐operative form, scattered throughout the country, both in the...

Following the extra meeting of the Coordination Committee of the European Rural Development Network held in Brussels on April 14th  The National Rural Network received proposals from nine members: four of them are active in the field of rural development (National Agricultural Research Foundation – {NAGREF}, Agricultural Products Certification &...

In this paper a simplified methodology for the estimation of drought impacts on crop yield in rainfed agriculture is proposed. The methodology is based on empirical models for the estimation of actual to potential evapotranspiration ratio (ET/PET). This ratio is related to the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI), an expression of...

In Crete olives are cultivated since antiquity, as archaeological evidence form the Minoan era shows. Olive production today occupies around 70% of total agricultural cultivated land. The landscape in most of the olive cultivated areas varies considerably. Olives are cultivated in coastal areas and often in sloppy orchards at the...