KAZALCI OKOLJA

Key message
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Changes in the size structure show that concentration processes are continuing regarding the extent of the agricultural land, while in the area of the livestock production these processes have slowed down. Nevertheless, due to its small size on average, the competitiveness of Slovenian farms is low compared to the EU–28 countries. Despite the structural changes, Slovenia lags behind the EU–28 average by about twice in terms of the size of agricultural holdings and in terms of the productivity (0.17 PDM/ha) and thus is ranked in the group of EU member states with the most unfavourable agricultural structure. The gap with countries with more developed agriculture is not narrowing. As many as 60% of agricultural holdings still manage less than 5 hectares of agricultural land, and more than a fifth of all agricultural land is in use in this size class. However, it should be pointed out, that fostering competitiveness and increasing the concentration of agricultural production may result in a reduction in biodiversity and an increase pressure on the environment.


The indicator shows changes in the size structure of agricultural holdings according to their physical or economic size. The concentration of agricultural production is mainly affected by changes in the number of agricultural holdings, land use changes, changes in the number of livestock on livestock holdings, the volume of labour input and changes in the economic size of agricultural holdings. The average size of agricultural holdings in Slovenia and the EU–28 countries that cultivate Utilised Agricultural Area and the average number of livestock units (LU) on agricultural holdings with livestock are shown. Changes in labour and economic size on agricultural holdings are also shown.


Charts

Figure KM34-1: Number of agricultural holdings by UAA size clasess
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2000 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Average size UAA/agricultural holding 5.62 6.36 6.86
Up to 5 ha UAA 53428 45728 41919
5-50 ha UAA 32864 28466 27391
more than 50 ha UAA 175 452 593
Total 86467 74646 69903
Figure KM34-2: Utilized agricultural area by UAA size classes
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2000 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Up to 5 ha UAA 127511 105162 98318
5-50 ha UAA 320073 312522 316202
more than 50 ha UAA 38294 56750 65069
Total 485878 474434 479589
Figure KM34-3: Agricultural holdings with livestock by LU size classes
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2000 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Average size LSU/agricultural holding 6.07 7.19 7.51
Up to 5 LSU 51268 37459 35932
5-50 LSU 25733 20336 18789
more than 50 LSU 451 853 1061
Total 77452 58648 55782
Figure KM34-4: Number of livestock units by LU size classes
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2000 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Up to 5 LSU 95286 63680 55717
5-50 LSU 305847 273645 260896
more than 50 LSU 69365 84227 102072
Total 470498 421553 418684
Figure KM34-5: Number of agricultural holdings by economic farm size classes
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2007 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Average size SO/holding 11746.99 12233.66 16576.87
Up to 8.000 EUR 52267 51461 41107
8.000-25.000 EUR 16417 15644 19175
more than 25.000 EUR 6654 7541 9621
Total 75338 74646 69903
Figure KM34-6: Economic size of agriculltural holdings by economic farm size clasess
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2007 [number] 2010 [number] 2016 [number]
Up to 8.000 EUR 174903 173782 154750
5-50 ha UAA 222471 210709 257778
more than 25.000 EUR 487621 528703 746245
Total 884995 913194 1158773
Figure KM34-7: Annual Work Units by UAA size classes
Sources:

SORS,AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 10. 10. 2020

Show data
2000 [%] 2010 [%] 2016 [%]
Up to 5 ha UAA 51049 33398 35231
5-30 ha UAA 52812 38291 38649
more than 30 ha UAA 3949 5324 6087
Total 107809 77012 79967
Table KM34-8: Size structure of agricultural holdings in the EU-28 member states in 2016
Sources:

EUROSTAT, AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 11. 10. 2020

Show data
Number of agricultural holdings [Number] Utilised agricultural area [Number] Number of holdings with livestock [Number] Number of livestock [Number] Economic size of farms [1000 EUR] Annual work units [Number]
Austria 132500 2669750 93920 2432030 6141561460 101740
Belgium 36890 1354250 25440 3772750 8037986420 55350
Bulgaria 202720 4468500 134970 1094240 3842891030 255520
Cyprus 34940 111930 9980 172080 616692170 18740
Czechia 26530 3455410 18680 1756520 5081940920 103270
Denmark 35050 2614600 20670 4128470 10062442040 49480
Estonia 16700 995100 6960 279330 801547060 19880
Finland 49710 2233080 16610 1102310 3514583720 81630
France 456520 27814160 247570 22081990 61343138670 708170
Greece 684950 4553830 238520 2102870 7574803910 457150
Croatia 134460 1562980 91470 754710 2034939130 160460
Ireland 137560 4883650 126590 6199890 6324900700 160740
Italy 1145710 12598160 154680 9467720 51689024310 897090
Latvia 69930 1930880 44970 498640 1221341010 76860
Lithuania 150320 2924600 95300 849990 2226207560 148350
Luxembourg 1970 130650 1540 173600 365008400 3500
Hungary 430000 4670560 261540 2444890 6532474660 394410
Malta 9210 11120 2740 32470 98016860 5340
Germany 276120 16715320 184690 18182310 49249020560 502610
Netherlands 55680 1796260 36960 6819960 23087034100 147200
Poland 1410700 14405650 718240 9443240 25005635420 1649400
Portugal 258980 3641690 172350 2223720 5144206850 313830
Romania 3422030 12502540 2567430 4828780 12105491800 1640120
Slovakia 25660 1889820 16120 621590 1931433530 47190
Slovenia 69900 488400 56580 512120 1158773470 82390
Spain 945020 23229750 216700 14442530 38365605150 822370
Sweden 62940 3012640 34290 1699990 5158678850 55940
United Kingdom 185060 16673270 138050 13340200 25403447340 284940
Table KM34-9: Concentration of agricultural production on agricultural holdings in the EU-28 Member States in 2016
Sources:

EUROSTAT, AIS calculations

Note:

Data: 11. 10. 2020

Show data
Average size of agricultural holdings [ha] Average number LSU/holding [Number] AWU/ha UAA [Number] Average size of economic size [EUR]
Austria 20.15 25.89 0 46351.41
Belgium 36.71 148.30 0.04 217890.66
Bulgaria 22.04 8.11 0.06 18956.64
Cyprus 3.20 17.24 0.17 17650.03
Czechia 130.25 94.03 0.03 191554.50
Denmark 74.60 199.73 0.02 287088.22
Estonia 59.59 40.13 0.02 47996.83
Finland 44.92 66.36 0.04 70701.74
France 60.93 89.19 0.03 134371.20
Greece 6.65 8.82 0.10 11058.92
Croatia 11.62 8.25 0.10 15134.16
Ireland 35.50 48.98 0.03 45979.21
Italy 11.00 61.21 0.07 45115.28
Latvia 27.61 11.09 0.04 17465.19
Lithuania 19.46 8.92 0.05 14809.79
Luxembourg 66.32 112.73 0.03 185283.45
Hungary 10.86 9.35 0.08 15191.80
Malta 1.21 11.85 0.48 10642.44
Germany 60.54 98.45 0.03 178360.93
Netherlands 32.26 184.52 0.08 414637.83
Poland 10.21 13.15 0.11 17725.69
Portugal 14.06 12.90 0.09 19863.34
Romania 3.65 1.88 0.13 3537.52
Slovakia 73.65 38.56 0.02 75270.21
Slovenia 6.99 9.05 0.17 16577.59
Spain 24.58 66.65 0.04 40597.66
Sweden 47.87 49.58 0.02 81961.85
United Kingdom 90.10 96.63 0.02 137271.41

Goals

Slovenia needs a structure of agricultural holdings that will be economically efficient, environmentally sustainable and which will preserve natural resources and vital countryside. The main objectives of agricultural policy are to improve the size structure of agricultural holdings, to ensure food security and to improve labour productivity on agricultural holdings.


According to the data from the latest sample survey of the structure of agricultural holdings, in 2016 slightly less than 70,000 agricultural holdings were engaged in agricultural activity in Slovenia. Compared to the year 2000, their number decreased by about a fifth or for almost 17 thousand agricultural holdings. In 2016, agricultural holdings used slightly less than 480 thousand hectares of Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA), which is around one percent less than in the year 2000. The average size of agricultural holdings in Slovenia in 2016 was 6.9 hectares of UAA per holding, which is almost a quarter (22%) more than in the year 2000, when it was 5.6 hectares of UAA / holding.

The process of concentration of agricultural land is also indicated by the changes in the size structure of agricultural holdings. The share of holdings with up to 5 hectares of UAA is decreasing. In this size class there are 41,919 agricultural holdings or. 60.0% of all agricultural holdings in Slovenia. These holdings cultivate 98,318 hectares of UAA, which represents 20.5% of all UAA. Compared to the year 2000, the share of holdings in this size class decreased by 1.8 percentage points, while the share of UAA cultivated by these holdings decreased by 5.7 percentage points. In contrast, in the period 2000–2016, the number of holdings in the size class above 50 ha of UAA and the agricultural land cultivated by these holdings increased significantly. In 2016, there were 593 agricultural holdings (3.4 times more than in 2000), which cultivated more than 65 thousand hectares of UAA (69% more than in the year 2000).

In 2016, slightly less than 56,000 agricultural holdings in Slovenia were engaged in livestock production, which is 21,670 holdings or a good quarter (28%) less than in the year 2000. These holdings together reared slightly less than 420,000 head of livestock units (LU), which is 11% less than in the year 2000. Livestock holdings reared on average 7.5 LU, which is almost a quarter more (23.6%) than in the year 2000, when they reared 6.1 LU per holding. The number of LU decreased in all size classes. In the year 2016, almost two thirds of all livestock holdings were in the size class up to 5 LU, and their share decreased by 2.2 percentage points compared to the year 2000. In 2016, these holdings reared slightly less than 56 thousand LU, which is 41.5% less than in the year 2000. In the period 2000–2016, the number of holdings in the size class over 50 LU more than doubled. In the year 2016 these holdings reared 102 thousand LU, which is almost a quarter of all LU. In comparison with the year 2000 the share of LU in this size class increased by almost 10 percentage points.

In the year 2016, the input of work in the Slovenian agriculture, including seasonal and occasional employment and machine services, expressed in Annual Work Units (AWU), amounted to 79,967 AWU. This is a more than a quarter less (–26%) than according to the 2000 Farm Structure Survey. The average number of AWUs per agricultural holding in 2016 was 1.14 AWU/holding, while in the year 2000 it was 1.24 PDM/holding. In the year 2016, the input of labour per unit of utilized agricultural area was 17 AWU/100 hectares of UAA. Compared to the year 2000, when the labour input per unit of utilized agricultural area was 22 AWU/100 hectares of UAA, the labour intensity improved significantly.

In the year 2016, Slovenian agricultural holdings achieved a total standard income of EUR 1.15 billion. Almost 60% of agricultural holdings was in the size classes up to EUR 8,000, which is 10 percentage points more than in the year 2000. These agricultural holdings together generated 13% of standard income. In 2007, agricultural holdings in this size classes generated almost 20% of standard income. An around quarter of holdings and 22% of standard income were in classes of economic size between EUR 8,000 and 25,000. In 2007, agricultural holdings in this size classes generated almost 25% of standard income. In the year 2016, only around tenth of agricultural holdings (14%) reached an economic size of over EUR 25,000, and almost two thirds of standard income were generated in this size class. In 2007, more than half (55.0% of standard income) was generated in this size class.

In the year 2016, the average agricultural holding in the EU–28 cultivated 16.6 hectares of UAA. The largest agricultural holdings are in the Czech Republic, where they cultivate an average of 132 hectares per agricultural holding, followed by the United Kingdom (with 91 ha) and Slovakia (with 79 ha). The smallest agricultural holdings are in Malta, where they cultivate on average only slightly more than a hectare of UAA per holding, and in Cyprus and Romania, where they cultivate just over 3 hectares of UAA. With 6.9 ha of UAA per agricultural holding, Slovenia belongs to the group of countries with the lowest average size of agricultural holdings.

In the year 2016, 5.7 million agricultural holdings were engaged in livestock farming in the European Union, which is 55% of all those engaged in agricultural production. Together, they reared just over 131 million head of livestock. In 2016, livestock farms in the EU–28 reared an average of 22.9 LU, which is more than twice as much as in Slovenia, where they reared 9.1 LU per holding. In terms of concentration, traditional livestock countries, such as Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, are in the forefront, with an average of more than 100 LU per agricultural holding.

In the EU–28, just over 9 million AWU worked on agricultural holdings in 2016. The average agricultural holding in the EU–28 employs 0.9 AWU. The Czech Republic has the highest number of AWUs per agricultural holding (3.9 AWUs), followed by the Netherlands (2.6 AWUs) and Slovakia (1.8 AWUs). Compared to the EU–28, Slovenia also has above-average employment on agricultural holdings (1.1 AWUs). The lowest employment is in Cyprus and Romania, where on average less than 0.5 AWUs are employed per agricultural holding.

In 2016, the average economic size, measured by standard income per agricultural holding, in the EU–28 was EUR 35,000. Among EU–28 countries, the Netherlands leads with more than EUR 400,000 of standard output per agricultural holding, while in Romania the average economic size is just over € EUR 3,500 per holding. With around EUR 16,500 per agricultural holding, Slovenia is one of the EU member states that lag far behind the EU–28 average.

A comparison of the data from the 2000 Census of agricultural holdings and a sample survey of the structure of agricultural holdings from 2016 shows that the processes of concentration of agricultural production in Slovenia are ongoing mainly because of reduced number of agricultural holdings and improving of labour productivity. Despite the fact that the average size, labour productivity and economic size of agricultural holdings improved significantly, we still lag far behind the EU-28 average. Given that structural changes are taking place slowly, the continuation of these trends will not significantly increase the burden on the environment.


Methodology

Date of data source summarization