The analyses focus on the structural change in agriculture and farm households for the selected hilly and mountainous areas in Slovenia before and after the accession to the European Union, with an emphasis on empirical analysis of a sample of income diversification of rural households in the census years, and the importance of self-employment for farm households’ well-being and food security. A t-test was applied to investigate the differences of arithmetic means between the two municipalities and between the two census years, and an F-test with analysis of variance was used for the differences of arithmetic means between four socioeconomic types of agricultural households (AHs). The number of farm households has declined with heterogeneous patterns according to their socioeconomic type and their location areas according to the level of economic development and natural farming conditions. Farm exits do not necessarily mean discontinuation of other nonfarming activities at a household. While the number of farm households leaving farming has increased, there has also been an increase in farm households engaged in other gainful activity such as supplementary farm activities and in off-farm employment and off-farm incomes. Income from farming for most households is not sufficient for survival, and therefore, diversification of income for households is imminent. Diversification of income from self-employment is important for more than one-third of households that maintain agri-food production for the market. Income from self-employment is an important source of income for household well-being and for investment in agricultural production to improve incomes from farming activities. Expansion of self-employment impacts the lack of time, business risks, and lack of interest of households to expand the business by renting external sources.

this paper analyses structural changes in agricultural holdings in the Škofja Loka region focusing on land use in the years 2000 and 2010. the analysis is conducted for the Škofja Loka region by socio-economic types of agricultural holdings, and by territories with different levels of economic development and different natural factors for agricultural production. Structural changes are different between municipalities with different natural factors for agricultural production and different levels of economic development as well as socio-economic types of agricultural holdings. State support for agricultural activity has mitigated overgrowth of agricultural land on naturally less favoured territories.

Abstractis paper presents the questionnaire results of the research on implications of the e ects of Slovenia's accession to the European Union (EU) on structural changes in agricultural holdings (AHs) in the case of Ško eloška hilly-mountain rural areas. e e ects are studied based on the analysis of income diversi cation of AHs three years before the Slovenian accession to the EU in 2000 and six years a er the Slovenian accession to the EU in 2010. Strategies of AHs on the basis of the questionnaire were analysed in early 2011. Income diversi cation of AHs with non-agricultural employment and o -farm incomes is necessary for survival for the majority of AHs. ere are observed di erences in structural changes in the AHs between areas with di erent 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 in uence.

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