Original scientific paper
Family Agricultural Holdings and Rural Development in Croatia
Milan Župančić
; Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In his text the author is discussing and reflecting on some core
characteristics of the family agricultural holdings in Croatia and their
role in the development of contemporary agriculture, as well as reflecting on the collective progress of the rural areas. In order to
fully grasp this role, he is primarily explaining the most important
dimensions of the traditional family farming holdings in opposition to
the position of the farming estates with in the contemporary industrial agriculture. The difference between these two types of
holdings, existing to that day on the world scene, are substantial,
although modern farms integrated in a larger agricultural process are predominant in developed countries, both types can in reality
co-exist, especially with in underdeveloped and semi-developed
countries. A traditional type of family farming holdings existed for a
long time in Croatia, although in the last 20, 30 years under the influence of different factors, a modern agricultural holding is being
born, capable of sustaining the market competition and to some extent compatible with the European surrounding. One of the concepts of the modern agriculture is a larger and technologically
better equipped farm. The efforts of the state policy during the transition and privatization process, which led to a new structure
of the Croatian agriculture, have taken that course. A bigger polarization in the ownership structure of the family agricultural
holdings has occurred, within which a smaller number of larger
and market oriented holdings has been singled out, co-existing
at the same time with a huge majority of small and tiny holdings,
who still maintain many traditional characteristics. Numerous issues
have yet to be resolved and the overall situation in agriculture is
stagnating and potentially very conflicting. The author is finally discussing a number of factors and protagonists implicated in the
integral development of the rural areas. The development of these
areas will depend on many of these, until now, mainly coming from
the agricultural background, and from now on, coming from other
backgrounds as well. The basic principle of progress of the rural areas is a different policy on space development, and the need of
»urban decentralization« as well as prevention measures related to
the huge rural migration, which is the cause of devitalization and
depopulation of the major parts of the rural space.
Keywords
agricultural holding; traditional and modern industrial agriculture; ownership structure; types of family holdings; protagonists of the rural development
Hrčak ID:
32878
URI
Publication date:
4.2.2009.
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