Multifunctionality of farm households in Greece

Multifunctionality is today a keyword to understand rural areas in Europe. Depending on the context, it may refer to farm households, areas, or the agricultural sector. For farm households, it can be defined as their capacity to respond adequately to societal and consumer demands through the provisioning of a variety of goods, services, and non-market functions. These farm household practices are often categorized as ‘deepening’, ‘broadening’, or ‘regrounding’. In the article, the multifunctional practices of farm households in Greece are discussed within this conceptual framework with the presentation of specific examples that are derived from fieldwork. The case studies represent different spatial units and practices, covering deepening (organic farming, integrated management), broadening (agrotourism, short food supply chains), and regrounding (pluriactivity) practices of Greek farm households. The most important findings link multifunctionality mostly to pluriactivity, with complex and diverse strategies. Finally, some of the most important activities are not practised by farm households but by upstream actors.