No abstract

No abstract

The conflict of interests in agricultural land use based on the diversity of needs of private and public interest is the main problem of the current protection of agricultural land in Slovakia. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to identify factors affecting the withdrawal of agricultural land, i.e., conversion of the agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes, and to initiate a professional discussion on the concept of protection and use of the agricultural land in Slovakia. Through panel regression models, the developmental, territorial, and legislative factors affecting land withdrawal for the purpose of housing, industry, transport, mining, and other purposes were analyzed. Research has shown that developmental factors, compared to legislative ones, affect the total volume of agricultural land withdrawn in bigger scope. From the perspective of the conflict of interests between the individuals and state regarding land protection, the private interest prevails over the public one. As a consequence, agricultural land is withdrawn in suburbanized and attractive areas, where the land of the highest quality is mostly located. In accordance with the precautionary principle, the state should adopt a long-term conceptual document defining the areas of agricultural land use taking into account the impact of the developmental factors on the land protection.

In Slovakia, the large-scale acquisition of agricultural land in combination with land concentration represents a legitimate threat that can lead to land grabbing. Based on the research, two interrelated areas of protection need to be effectively regulated to limit land grabbing: the protection of access to land and the protection of agricultural land. Due to the absence of relevant data analysis regarding this issue, the main aim of the study was to analyse the emergence of land concentration in Slovakia based on historical and cultural factors and to evaluate the current legislative and institutional framework of both aspects of land protection with a possible impact on the successively graduating threat of land grabbing. In particular, analytical methods were used, presenting the data from secondary literature sources, a questionnaire survey, and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Slovakia. The research shows that although the state has adopted the necessary legal framework for the protection of property rights to agricultural land, it is not possible to enforce it, as the institutional framework for its implementation is absent. It is also the state’s malfunctioning land protection regulatory mechanism and the absence of indirect action instruments that may be key indicators leading to the processes of industrial agriculture. Therefore, the adoption of legislation limiting agricultural land acquisition is important, but the processes of land grabbing presume the state’s complex provision of a regulatory mechanism and adoption of strategic measures aimed at sustainable land quality and food security.

Industrialization of agriculture is associated with the creation of negative externalities of intensive agriculture. The situation has developed pressure to create alternatives to intensification, such as organic farming, which role is defined in Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007: consumer demand for healthy and safe food and the public interest in protecting the environment and the interest of the state in the health of its inhabitants, even though organic farming is a minor alternative and is necessary to support conditions for its existence. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of state support in the field of organic farming from legislative, political, institutional and financial perspectives, and to identify the main incentives as well as the barriers to the development of organic farming. In this paper we used in particular qualitative methods of survey (interviews with relevant stakeholders). In order to get a holistic picture, an analysis of the economic situation of organic farmers was conducted based on the available data. Based on the results of the paper it can be stated that although farmers have an interest in producing their products (plants and animals) in organic farming, the Slovak Republic has not created sufficient conditions to increase the share of organic farming in agriculture.