Going sustainable or conventional? Evaluating the CAP's impacts on the implementation of sustainable forms of agriculture in Greece

Abstract

The extensive use of conventional farming has brought about numerous negative effects in the environment and the quality of agricultural products, emerging the introduction of alternative forms of agriculture, including organic and integrated farming. The recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) implemented a policy scheme to encourage the engagement in organic and integrated farming, in an effort to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural production and enhance environmental protection. The objective of the present study is to investigate the main factors of the CAP that contribute to the implementation of these two alternative farming systems in Greece, furthermore analysing the farmers’ characteristics, opinions and attributes, towards the significance of each factor. The results indicate that the three main CAP's measures that affect the application of organic and integrated farming refer to the importance of farm certification, the product's promotion by other EU programmes and, predominantly the subsidized support of agricultural production.