European Union young farmers program: a Greek case study
New Medit, vol 9, n.2, (June 2010), pp. 50-55
Language: EN
Jel classification: Q180
In recent years, successive reforms of the CAP have placed particular emphasis on the integrated development of the countryside and on strengthening the multiple job-holding of farmers. More specifically, incentives have been granted to young people in the European countryside in order for them to remain in rural areas and improve their income. The aim of the aid Programmes for young farmers is, on the one hand, to renew the age composition of the rural population and, on the other, to improve the structure of their farms. In this way, the issue of the ageing rural population is addressed, while simultaneously exploiting the new labour resources for agriculture, thus providing an impetus for the improvement of its entrepreneurial and competitive profile. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the aid Programmes for Young Farmers and, more specifically, the First Measure of the Third Axis of the Operational Programme Rural Development Regeneration of the Countryside 2000- 2006, based on improvements to the level of viability. The methodology used in this case is the Categorical Regression. At first, improvements to the viability level of a sample of farms that were included in the Regional Operational Programmes of the Region of Central Macedonia are checked. On a second level, an analysis evaluation is made on how the effect of the basic socio-economic parameters may have changed, in formulating the final economic viability level of the farms, after the completion of their Investment Plans (future status). The results show that the orientation of the farms, after the implementation of the financing Programme, is towards exploiting the comparative advantages of the various regions by making use of suitable crops.
financing programmes, viability, young farmers, evaluation, categorical regression
