Labor management strategies in facing the economic crisis. Evidence from Greek livestock farms

Athanasios Ragkos ^[2] ; Stavriani Koutsou ^[3] ; Alexandros Theodoridis ^[1] ; Theodoros Manousidis ^[4] ; Vasiliki Lagka ^[3]
1. [1] Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  
  Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  
  Dimos Thessaloniki, Grecia
2. [2] Agricultural Economics Research Institute, ELGO Demeter, Greece.
3. [3] Department of Agricultural Technology, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki,Greece.
4. [4] Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace,Greece.
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Localización: New medit: Mediterranean journal of economics, agriculture and environment = Revue méditerranéenne d'economie, agriculture et environment, ISSN 1594-5685, Vol. 17, Nº. 1 (marzo), 2018, págs. 59-71
Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
- This paper investigates the role of labor – either family or hired – in the development of the Greek livestock sector and the effects of labor management strategies undertaken against the crisis. For this purpose, the main types of cattle and sheep and goat farms were investigated with a questionnaire survey and their strategies were assessed. Building on the findings from four studies of different production sectors and systems, important questions about the role of hired labor in the Greece of crisis are raised and dealt with. Intensive farms profited from hired labor in order to develop, but during the crisis they demonstrated a variety of strategies. On the other hand, extensive systems safeguarded their family character and took advantage of traditional knowledge in order to survive the crisis. The labor from female family members was proven a significant asset for many of the surveyed farms.