Agricultural Holdings in Hilly-Mountain Areas in Slovenia before and after the Accession to the European Union

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the questionnaire results of the research on implications of the effects of Slovenia’s accession to the European Union (EU) on structural changes in agricultural holdings (AHs) in the case of Škofjeloška hilly-mountain rural areas. The effects are studied based on the analysis of income diversification of AHs three years before the Slovenian accession to the EU in 2000 and six years after the Slovenian accession to the EU in 2010. Strategies of AHs on the basis of the questionnaire were analysed in early 2011. Income diversification of AHs with non-agricultural employment and off-farm incomes is necessary for survival for the majority of AHs. There are observed differences in structural changes in the AHs between areas with different natural conditions for agricultural production, and particularly in the extent and in the direction of structural changes by socioeconomic types of AHs. Structural changes inhibit non-economic objectives of AHs, while non-agricultural employment has a two-way influence.