The evolution of animal husbandry in Greece: a regional analysis of livestock farms

Animal husbandry is an integral part of the Greek primary sector, shaping the agricultural landscape and contributing significantly to the national economy. The Greek economy and especially primary production went through a difficult period with the financial and economic crisis in the last decade. This paper attempts to analyse the effects of the financial crisis in Greece in the livestock sector. For this purpose, the data from the agriculture and livestock censuses concerning the number of livestock holdings and the number of animals per holding are analysed. At the same time, the geographical distribution of livestock farming in Greece is presented. The findings show that financial crisis had a substantial impact on the sustainability of livestock farms. The number of animals has decreased dramatically, with the majority of farms abandoning livestock activities. The results are useful for policy makers especially of rural development programs.