Life Style Or Survival Strategy?

At the beginning of the 1990s, less than a half-percent of the Czech agricultural work force were private farmers having persisted through the period of forced collectivization. This tiny social group did not play an economically or socially significant role in Czech society. In the agricultural sector, privatization of the Czech economy after 1989 meant restitution of land to the original owners. State and co-operative farms were transformed either to joint enterprises, i.e. owner-run co-operatives, or to private farms. Initially, there was no great interest in private farming. However, employment opportunities in rural areas are limited. Today, private farmers comprise about 20% of the agricultural work force. Over half of them (54%) have less than one hectare arable land and private farming is not their main source of work income. The rest of the private farmers have different types of holdings ranging from 1 ha to well over 1000 ha. The average size of private holdings of this category is about 32 ha. Return to private farming means a large change of life style for both farmers and their families. Hard competition on the market is reflected in their attitudes and opinions. Of course, life cannot be reduced to solely the economic dimension. Freedom, personal independence, and decision-making responsibility appear as new major life values. Nevertheless, close interdependency of economic and social conditions is strongly felt. This contribution summarizes results of empirical research based on 385 Czech private farmers. Survey participants evaluated positive and negative effects of changes subsequent to 1989 on their economic and social life.