OECD Territorial Reviews: Tzoumerka, Greece 2002

OECD's territorial review of the Tzoumerka region of Greece. The Tzoumerka is a mountainous area in Northwestern Greece that presents considerable development challenges with respect to economic growth, social cohesion and governance. The area is highly dependent on traditional agricultural activities that are only made viable by considerable Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) support. Unfortunately, this support will almost inevitably decline. As incentives to modernise agricultural activities and promote other business activity have been ineffective, local development policy will need to go farther. It must direct the local population away from old survival habits to investing in capabilities required of new economic projects. The policy instruments that are likely to be most effective in creating a new mindset will consist in identifying and incubating a small number of successful initiatives with strong demonstration effects. Strategies identified include processing raw agricultural products into premium foodstuffs, to appeal to contemporary demand trends, and harnessing the valuable tourism resources of the area in order to attract visitors who increasingly seek out authenticity in their tourism experiences.