Land and usage structures and their impacts on rural livelihood in Central Europe

1. Land and usage structures and their impacts on rural livelihood in Central Europe Katalin Kovács Centre for Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences

2. Content • Agricultural restructuring of the CEE-s: an overview • Farm structures in three Central European countries • Countries: • Czech Republic, • Slovak Republic, • Hungary • Dimensions: • share of large-scale/small-scale, • similarities, differences, • reasoning • (Small-scale) farming and livelyhood – the Hungarian case

3. Models of collectivised agricultre Stalinist (Romania, Albania) Neo-Stalinist (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, GDR) Hungarian A Swain typology from 2000 De-collectivisation models Rapid destructuring, then building up from grassroots Dominant: small-scale Secondary: medium-scale company Slow transformation Strong large-scale sector Multiple transformation rounds Weak small-scale sector Rapid and relatively balanced transformation Agricultural restructuring of the CEE-s

4. Agricultural restructuring of the CEE-s • Structuring principles • The overall economic conditions, the scale of state control over the events • The flexibility of late socialist collectivisation models, the presence of market-principles • Ownership relations • Food-chain and inter-farm connections • Preferences at policy-making level: privatisation + restitution policies and legislations • Power relations and preferences at grassroots level: convictions, beliefs and expectations of elit and ordinary population circles

5. Agricultural restructuring of the CEE-s • Fragmented ownership • Dual farm structure with low share of the middle: = the Western-like family farm model General outcome Large-scale farm-dominated systems: Czechia, Slovakia Household plot dominated systems:Albania, Romania Farm systems Combined: Hungary, Bulgaria S-m farms’ social role Very important Not so important Important

6. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary

7. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary • What statistics tell about: • The overwhelming prevalence of large-scale farms in the usage of agricultural land (the share of farms over 100 hectares) • Slovakia (93%) • average large-scale farm size: 1200 ha • in the Czech Republic (88%) • average large-scale farm size: 960 ha • Less so in Hungary (60%) • average large-scale farm size: 600 ha

8. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary

9. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary • Further characteristics (data 2000) • The role models of the collectivised agriculture, producer co-operatives have been loosing out to a large degree, except Slovakia (46%) • An emerging wide variety of company and co-operative forms • Czechia took the lead in terms of the importance of companies as land operators (43%) • The individual forms of land-use is the strongest in Hungary (49%)

10. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary

11. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary

12. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary • What case studies suggest about the characteristics of post-soc large-scale farms • They are not so big, not so overstaffed, but … • They are not so pluriactive, • many opted for the „either” / „or” approach (cropping / animal breeding); • The „many own, few use” principle is still prevalent as well as that of „the farms are run according to the managers’ and not the owners’ interests” (Fertő 1999) • Their interlinkages with small-scale farms diminished radically

13. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary The characteristics of the small-scale sector • Czechia + Hungary: 12-14% commertial farms • Czechia + Slovakia: relatively weak plot farming (14-16%) • Slovakia: weak individual commertial farm sector • Hungary: strong plot-farm sector (40-42%)

14. Farm structures in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary Roots of differences • Different starting models • Less developed small-scale sector in the former Czechoslovakia, restricted to household consumption and the local markets to a large extent – vs. integrated and specified small-scale farms • Ownership (landed property) • Differences in • Land privatisation legislation (full restitution vs. „allotment + compensation + land auctions) • Privatisation of the assets • Policies („pro”-s and „conra”s) • Locally/culturally determined sentiments, beliefs towards company-forms

15. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood The Hungarian case • A huge drop of permanent jobs (80% of agricultural jobs were lost) • A continuous and sound drop of plot farms • 20% between 1994-2000 (1.207.000 996.000) • 20% between 2000-2003 (996.000 773.000) • The shrinking categories: • Small-size plots, mostly the below 2 ESU size • Semi-subsistence farms • The loss of integration with large-scale farms • Concentration, specification as a response for the challenges

16. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood • Sound regional differences emerged, reflecting the • profitability of farming • the proximity of on-farm and off-farm jobs • the rate of unemployment • the composition of the population • age • education • „peasant traditions” • Spatial seggregation has become a major issue

17. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood The share of under age pensioners within the group of retired people; deviation from the country average (2003)

18. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood The share of households without active employees. The deviation form the country average (2001)

19. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood Social crisis areas 2001 with profound social segregation the target area of the urban poor with polarised pop. structure ageing, emptying

20. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood The proportion of family labour engaging in individual farming in the % of the population over 15. Deviation from the country average 2000.

21. Small-scale farming and rural livelyhood • Small-scale farming is strong • where people have no other choice than agriculture either as a first or a secondary source of income (in the latter case frequently as social transfer recipients) • Where „peasant” and entrepreneurial traditions are strong and natural endowment are favourable • Small scale farming is weak • where there are other choices, on the spot or accessable off-farm jobs, • and/or elderly population is increasing here professionalised and commertial small-scale farms and hobby farms are increasingly dominate the sector • where spatial seggregation of the poor (Roma + non-roma) population takes large holds

22. Concluding remarks • To provide remedy for the damages caused by globalisation, transformation, etc. in rural spaces long-term and realistic coping strategies should be developed jointly • The shrinkage of agricultural job-opportunities will continue as much as investors’ favoring urban spaces, therefore accessibility of urban areas becomes a key issue + Internet access • Primary education has a major importance in combating social segregation

23. Concluding remarks • Linkages should be promoted • between small-scale production and the food chain • between the growing rural underclass and the society at large • As rural poverty seems to reflect the patterns of spatial accumulation in peripheral rural districts in each country, a Europe-wide, joint integrated cohesion policy targeting rural peripheries should be developed or reinstalled as soon as possible