Between Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability

This chapter traces three sociotechnical transitions in Greece’s tomato production regime from the 1930s to the present, examining how shifting state visions, expert expectations, and technological systems have shaped both edible and industrial tomato pathways. The first transition established a nationally directed regime of self-sufficiency, aligning agronomic expertise and state policy around domestic seed systems and irrigation infrastructures. The second transition differentiated edible and industrial tomato production into nested regimes: industrial tomatoes followed a modernization trajectory centered on standardized varieties for export, while edible tomatoes advanced through greenhouse technologies that redefined seasonality and productivity. The third transition, emerging since the late 1990s, reflects sustainability pressures linked to CAP reforms, climate change, and pesticide reduction targets. Despite niche innovations such as organic and Integrated Crop Management practices, both regimes remain constrained by high-input lock-ins. The chapter situates Greece’s tomato regime within broader Mediterranean modernization trajectories, emphasizing institutional inertia and the uneven pursuit of sustainable agro-transitions.