Agricultural Land Withdrawals in Relation to Sustainable Land Use in Slovakia

Abstract

The area of ​​agricultural land withdrawn for non-agricultural purposes is gradually increasing worldwide, which is mainly due to the conflicting interests of entities that are interested in the use of this natural resource. Between 2009 and 2020, agricultural land in the area of ​​more than 16,000 ha was withdrawn in Slovakia for non-agricultural purposes. It can be considered a threat that the purpose of withdrawal is mostly industrial and subsequently housing, from which it is possible to predict the continuing intensification of industrial production and the growing agglomeration of regional cities. The role of the state in this regard is to introduce tools for its protection so that its production as well as ecological functions are ensured in a sustainable way. The aim of the paper is to evaluate changes in agricultural land use in Slovakia in the context of analysis of implementation tools aimed at protecting agricultural land, using descriptive and regression analysis of available primary and secondary sources. The result thus points to the increased need of protection and reduction of the rate of withdrawal of agricultural land from the agricultural land fund (at least within the highest quality groups with the highest impact for individual withdrawal purposes), more specifically the land belonging to groups 2 and 3, in order to stabilize the agro-sector, which is vital in terms of its functions, among other things, as well as in the field of biodiversity protection, food self-sufficiency and landscape maintenance. The protection of agricultural land as a component of the environment is not a priority interest of state policy, and therefore its implementation is vague and non-conceptual in terms of current progress and the needs of the society.