Young Farmers’ Installation

One of the most basic problems of Greek Agriculture and the rural areas is the aging of the population.

The demographic problem is more intense in mountainous, disadvantaged and island regions, where the living conditions are admittedly much more unfavorable, due to natural disadvantages and isolation. The fact that the majority of the farmers are of advanced age, constitutes a hindrance to the diffusion of expertise, the application of innovations and the adjustment to the constantly changing conditions of the «agricultural» products international market.

The aging of the agricultural population constitutes one of the most serious problems. At the Union of Agrinio we try to invert this image, by undertaking procedures, even from the moment of initial settlement.

Already, up-to-now, and following the application of measure 112, according to the 2nd and 3rd Programming period, about 30.000 new farmers have settled in rural regions, occupied with agriculture, a fact that has blunted the afore-mentioned problems.

The purpose of measure 112 «Young Farmers’ Installation » of the Agricultural Growth Program is to attract people of young age in rural areas and to occupy them in agriculture. This will positively contribute to the employment as well as the maintenance of the rural population. The effectiveness of this intervention is amplified by the fact that young farmers will be the ones mainly benefited by early retirement, thus creating more favorable conditions for increasing the magnitude of agricultural exploitation. This, combined with the adoption of new practices and innovations by young people, will substantially improve competitiveness.

Aim of the measure

The measure aims to rejuvenate the rural population through the installation of young farmers, by offering them incentives that will facilitate a) their initial installation and b) their projects’ structural adjustment by the submission of a business plan.

Definition of the term «installation» as used by the member state

Installation of a Young Farmer is considered the beginning of operation of an agricultural exploitation unit, that demands at least 0.5 Human Labor Units (HLU) of work, of which the legitimate owner and leader is a natural person below 40 years of age. An HLU is considered the labor that is offered by a natural person, working under full employment conditions in agricultural exploitation, during a whole calendar year, and equals to 1.750 hours of employment.

Full support

The last proclamation occurred in 2014 and had a total budget of 140 million euros. The Union of Agrinio, bearing in mind the necessity to enforce the primary production with human resources and more importantly with people of young age, has offered all the support possible to all those interested, by undertaking the completion and submission of the relevant application files.