La P.A.C., su reforma y su influencia en la agricultura vasca

Until the middle of the eighties, the Common Agricultural Policy provided very beneficial market conditions which favoured the coexistence of farms and companies with very different levels of economic efficiency. As of 1984, the CAP became an auction dominated by falling prices which frustrated the aspirations of European farmers. In the middle of this process, Basque agriculture comes onto the stage. The question is obvious: How can its future be guaranteed, and with it, the maintenance of its social functions? The answer is not so obvious. On the one hand, the entry into the E.E.C. does not necessarily involve integration in community markets, as to a certain extent, Basque agriculture can create its own markets, and a crear proof of this is Idiazabal cheese, txakoli from Getaria and wine from the Rioja Alavesa. Likewise, farmers must complement agricultural activities with others, wich increase incomes and satisfy the demand for recreational and cultural services in contact with Nature. Lastly, it is necessary to achieve a situation in which in certain agricultural areas the problem is not so much one of income as providing indispensable social services and installations.