The establishment of the farm structure in the EU, with special regard to Hungary

Harangi-Rákos, Mónika

Keywords: Farm Structure Survey, Agricultural Census, utilised agricultural area, land use, Annual Work Unit (AWU)

In the European Union (EU), Hungary is ranked among the countries with favourable ecological conditions. The utilised agricultural area (UAA) represents 60% (5.3 million hectares) of the country’s total area. In the EU only Denmark and Great Britain have a higher proportion of UAA. Hungary has only a 3% share in the total UAA of the EU, nevertheless Hungary plays an important role in the production of some crops. According to the analysis of agricultural holdings in the EU 80% of the farms farm less than 10 hectares, 14% farm 10 to 50 hectares, and 3% farm 50 to 100 hectares of land. Just 3% of the holdings farm over 100 hectares but these represent 50% of the total utilised agricultural area in the EU. The Hungarian farm structure seems to be unique in the EU (although Poland and Romania also have a fragmented farm structure). In Hungary 87% of the holdings farm less than 5 hectares, while only a tiny proportion of holdings farm over 50 hectares land. In Hungary a very low ceiling has been set for the minimum farm size contributing to the fragmented land structure. As a result, the definition of farms differs significantly from the definition used in farm business management analysis. As rural households are also included in the farm survey of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office the number of agricultural holdings differs significantly from that of commercial farms.

Full article