Positive effects of the Greek economic crisis on livestock farmer behaviour

The repercussions of the economic crisis have been severe upon the foundations of the Greek economy and society, and the margins for future development are more than ever strict and urgent. Within an economically turbulent period, agriculture's role is reexamined and is called to play an enhanced role, particularly the livestock sector that comprises a key growth element for the economy, bearing in mind the number of people and industries employed in the production and processing of dairy products. The present study is a classification approach regarding small ruminant farmers (sheep and goat), examining their reaction strategies against the economic crisis and its economic consequences to their farming systems. Primary quantitative data were collected through administrative (structured questionnaire) personal interviews from 110 small ruminant farmers, in the remote region of Anatoliki Macedonia and Thraki. A combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, cluster and discriminant analysis was employed to identify potentially distinct groups among the farmers. Results accrued reveal three clusters of farmers: the active entrepreneurs (47.2 % of the sample) who adopted more dynamic and cost-effective management practices, the complacent farmers (38.1 % of the sample) who followed a passive path of management decisions and the non - active farmers (14.7 % of the sample) who incorporate a static behaviour in the struggle against the economic crisis. The study is a first attempt to measure response to an ongoing economic crisis that has changed normal behaviour and expectations, and increased risk and uncertainty. In this sense, it demonstrates (with the use of the appropriate methodologies) the adaptation practices implemented by farmers from a significant economic sector (small ruminants), in a remote and less favourite Greek region, in order to persist and effectually respond to the current economic downturn.