Four Milestones in the Social and Economic Development of Czech Agriculture

Abstract

The development of agriculture in Czechoslovakia has a rich history. Some authors talk about two discontinuities (collectivization & decollectivization). However, in the almost 100-year long evolution, at least four major turnarounds can be registered: the agrarian crisis at the turn of the century; the 1919 land reform; collectivization after 1949; & transformation after 1989. The events of this century that acted as the most important impulses of social change are evidently WWI & WWII. Outside these events, the political-administrative form changed seven times during 100 years (the Austro-Hungarian Empire to 1918, the First Republic 1918-1938, the Second Republic 1938/39, the Protectorate Bohmen & Mahre under German occupational direction 1939-1945, the Czechoslovak Republic 1945-1960, the Czechoslovak Socialistic Republic 1960-1968, the Czechoslovak Federative Republic 1968-1993, & the Czech Republic from 1993). Included in this enumeration are the connection with Slovakia in 1918 & the separation of Slovakia on two occasions, in 1939 & 1993. Agriculture went through a rise as well as a deep fall in prestige in this history. Agricultural workers as a social group have gone through major ups & downs, & the present situation is not prosperous for them. The key problem of Czech agriculture is a parallelism of high indebtedness & a low rate of enterprise profit. The problem in rural areas is related to the high rate of unemployment & growing migration. The development of agriculture within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy in Europe remains an open question.