Increasing Farm Concentration in Hungary
Alajos FEHÉR1, Róbert CZIMBALMOS*2, Györgyi KOVÁCS2, Edit SZEPESY1
* Corresponding author
1 Regiocon Commercial and Consulting Co. Ltd., Kompolt, HUNGARY
2 University of Debrecen, Centre for Agricultural and Applied Economic Sciences, Karcag Research Institute of the Research Institutes and Educational Farm, Debrecen, HUNGARY
E-mail: feher@regiocon.hu, rczimb@agr.unideb.hu, kovacsgyorgyi@agr.unideb.hu, szepesy@regiocon.hu
Pages: 29-36. URL: https://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva1_2010/04JSSP012010.pdf
Cite: Fehér A., Czimbalmos R., Kovács G., Szepesy E. (2010), Increasing Farm Concentration in Hungary. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 1(1), 29-36. URL: https://geografie.ubbcluj.ro/ccau/jssp/arhiva1_2010/04JSSP012010.pdf
Abstract. In the EU as a whole, there was a reduction of 1.658 million AWU (12.4%) in those employed in agriculture, between 2003 and 2007. In Hungary the decrease was 21% in terms of AWU per 100 hectares of agricultural land. In Hungary the concentration of land areas took place between 2005 and 2007 in such a way, that the arable land used by farms of less than 50 hectares declined, while that of larger farms increased. The motivation and intention of 104 farmers in three LEADER micro-regions in Northern and Eastern Hungary with respect to the present and future structures of their farms were investigated using questionnaires and narrative interviews. Almost two-thirds of the respondents spoke of the existence of non-agricultural activities and functions, but few of these were market-driven.
K e y w o r d s: farm concentration, multifunctional agriculture, farm diversification, Hungary