An Introduction to the History of Agriculture

Agriculture depends a lot on agriculture. One quarter of the Greek workforce is engaged in farming, and agriculture constitutes about 15% of the domestic production. Not much attention has been drawn on the agricultural sector of the economy. The farms are pretty small, the division of inheriting land has reduced the average size to 3,4 hectares (8 acres) and it is really difficult to use mechanised equipment efficiently. Yields are also low due to the dryness and erosion of the soil. Let’s take a look at the yearly output of some major crops: tobacco 142000, wheat 2.6 million, tomatoes 1.9 million, oranges 780000, corn 2.1 million, sugar beet 1.9 million, grapes 1.6 million, olives 1.5 million, potatoes 850000 and cotton 222000. Livestock included some 10.8 million sheep, 3.5 million goats, 800000 head of cattle, 31 million poultry and 1.2 million pigs. Forestry and Fishing The Greek government owns the two-thirds of the forestland and has materialised her plans i.e. to replace the trees that were destroyed during World War II.

About 2.9 million cum of timber were annually cut in the late 80’s and approximately the 75% of the harvest was hardwood. Fish exports are limited because of the widespread consumption of fish products within Greece. However in recent years thousands of tons of fish are exported each year, due to the ever increasing development of fish farms in the country. In the late 80’s the annual catch totalled 135000 tons, from which 80% was consumed within Greece. Sponges are the main marine product exported. Mining Mining is of little importance to the Greek economy. We should mention though the annual output of minerals in tons: bauxite 2.3 million, iron ore 1.3 million and magnesite 884400. Also, about 279200 cum of marble were quarried. Petroleum, salt, chromium, silver, zinc were also produced. Manufacturing Approximately one fifth of the Greek workforce is engaged in manufacturing.

Which contributes 18% of the annual gross production. The manufactured products include: food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, clothing, chemicals, cement and wine. Athens is the manufacturing center of Greece. Currency and Banking The national currency of Greece is drachma. The central banking institution is the Bank of Greece. The biggest banks of Greece are the National Bank of Greece, with 470 domestic branches and the Agricultural Bank of Greece with 420 branches. Foreign Trade Generally Greece spends each year much more on imports than it receives from exports.

This “imbalance” is offset to a certain extent by tourist revenues and by remittances from Greeks living abroad. In the 80’s the imports totalled 3 trillion drachmas and exports eamed 1.5 trillion drachmas. The imports were mostly machinery, petroleum and chemicals. The main exports were fruits and vegetables, clothing, textiles and furs, beverages and tobacco, petroleum products, non-ferrous metal, iron and steel. The principal trade patterns were: Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, the United States and Japan. The countries of the European Union account for more that 60% of Greece’s yearly total trade. Tourism Greek economy depends a lot on tourism. Due to the many archaeological places and buildings, the sun, the blue sky, the sea and the Mediterranean climate, many people visit each year Greece. In the late 80’s 8.1 million tourists visited Greece. The receipts from tourism were totalled 300 billion drachmas.