The decline in the Greek agricultural sector is so extensive that the country has been reduced to importing tomatoes, among other products, from other countries.

Clearly something went horribly wrong in the way the Greek state, along with the European Union, dealt with the agricultural issue altogether.

For a large number of farmers, living off EU subsidies became a way of life, without anyone ever showing any sign of real concern regarding the quality and marketability of their products.

This business model, however, belongs to the past.

Greece needs modern, productive farmers operating in a business-like, professional way. The state ought to help these farmers during the transition to a new, more productive model.

The era of subsidies and emergency compensation is now over, not only because there is no more money left to hand out, but because this is what led this vital sector of the Greek economy to decline in the first place.