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Archive:Farm structure in Slovenia - 2007 results

Data from July 2008. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
Figure 1: Distribution of the utilised agricultural area, Slovenia, 2005 and 2007
Figure 2: Description of the labour force in Slovenia, 2007
Figure 3: Distribution of the number of livestock units, Slovenia, 2005 and 2007
Table 1: Labour force by size of the farms, Slovenia, 2007 Eurostat (ef_ov_lfft)
Table 2: Agricultural holdings by size, Slovenia, 2007 Eurostat (ef_ov_kvaaesu)
Table 3: Land use by size of the farms, Slovenia, 2007 Eurostat (ef_ov_lusum)
Table 4: Livestock by size of the farm, Slovenia, 2007 Eurostat (ef_ov_lssum)
Table 5: Subsistence farming, Slovenia, 2007

This article is part of a series of country-specific essays on the results of the European Union (EU) Farm structure survey (FSS) 2007. It provides a brief but nevertheless comprehensive insight into farm structure in Slovenia.

The 2007 FSS recorded 75 300 agricultural holdings in Slovenia, which represents a 2.4 % decrease since 2005.

Main statistical findings

One out of four Slovenian farmers is a woman

In 2007, about 61 500 agricultural holdings in Slovenia had an economic size of at least one European size unit (ESU), compared to 60 900 in 2005.

These farms made use of 0.46 million hectares (ha) of utilised agricultural area (UAA), which makes the average size of a holding in Slovenia 7.5 ha (compared to 7.4 ha in 2005). See Figure 1 for the distribution of UAA in terms of farm size, while Table 2 describes the size distribution and other characteristics of the agricultural holdings.

These holdings employed 75 000 annual work units (AWUs), the equivalent of 75 000 people working full time, a decrease of 9 % since 2005. The organisation and distribution of the labour force in Slovenia is described in Figure 2 and Table 1.

The farms contained 540 300 livestock units (LSU) in 2007, 7 % less than in 2005. The distribution of livestock by farm size is shown in Table 4 and Figure 3.

Amongst the 61 500 agricultural holdings in 2007:

  • 44 % made use of less than one AWU, while another 15 % made use of two or more AWUs;
  • 16 % used less than 2 ha, while less than 1 % used 50 ha or more;
  • 54 % were producing mainly for own consumption, the number of farms with more than 50 % of the production self-consumed by the holder decreased by 10% since 2005;
  • 44 % were specialists in livestock;
  • 15 % were sheep, goats and other grazing livestock specialists;
  • 14 % were mixed cropping holdings;
  • 13 % were mixed livestock holdings;

Amongst the sole holders:

  • 25 % were women in 2007;
  • 57 % were aged 55 or more and 4 % were younger than 35 years (the tendency is towards ageing of the farm holders);
  • 75 % had another gainful activity in 2007 (compared to 71 % in 2005).

In Slovenia in 2007, 70 % of the agricultural area was owned by farmers.

The family  labour force has remained steady from 2005 to 2007 and represents 92 % of the farm workers.

24 100 ha were organically farmed (5.2 % of the utilised agricultural area), this area has increased by 47 % since 2005. The number of farms with organic farming increased by 30 %, but represents only 2 % of holdings. Details of land use by size of farm are given in Table 3.

58 % of the UAA was occupied by permanent grassland and meadow.

The situation for subsistence farming in Slovenia is outlined in Table 5.

Data sources and availability

Due to the different coverage of the FSS across Member States, the total number of farms is not comparable between countries. This is why the present analysis, including Tables 1-4 and the figures focus on holdings of at least one European size unit.

The agriculture holding in Slovenia is defined as having at least one hectare of UAA or less than one hectare if it matches one of the following conditions: at least 0.1 ha of UAA and 0.9 ha of forest; at least 0.3 ha of vineyards and/or orchards; two or more LSU, between 0.15 and 0.3 ha of vineyards or orchards and 1 to 2 LSU; more than 50 beehives; production of vegetables, herbs, strawberries, mushrooms, flowers or ornamental plants for commercial purposes.

The target population was the family farms recorded in the Statistical Farm Register and all the business enterprises of the Business Register. The list of units is updated twice a year using information from the statistical surveys and administrative data sources (Register of Territorial Units, Integrated Administrative and Control System). All business enterprises have been surveyed (131). In case of the 87 362 family holdings a stratified simple random sampling was used. The farm population was stratified into 48 strata based on 20 physical criteria (e.g. UAA, extensive orchard, cattle) and on the 12 statistical regions (NUTS 3 level). The stratification produced 4 groups, where the largest holdings were included in group 1 while the smallest in group 4.

In order to obtain reasonable and representative samples from strata of the largest holdings all units have been selected (full scope), while in the other ones a proportional allocation was applied. The size of the sample resulted in 17 000 family farms.

Some characteristics related to bovine livestock, location of the holding, organic farming, gainful activities of the holdings, and crop areas where taken from the System for identification and registration of bovine animals and the Integrated Administration and Control System.

The data were checked by the regional survey supervisors (provided a list of controls), and then screened again at the Statistical Office. Automatic checks were also carried through a computer application that covers logical, arithmetic, and completeness tests. The response rate for the survey was 91 %.

For each activity (`enterprise`) on a farm (for instance wheat, dairy cow or vineyard), a standard gross margin (SGM) is estimated, based on the area (or the number of heads) and a regional coefficient. The sum of such margins in a farm is its economic size, expressed in European size units (ESU, 1 ESU is a 1200-euro SGM).

An annual work unit (AWU) is equivalent to a worker employed on a full time basis for one year. In Slovenia it is 1800 hours (225 working days of 8 working hours per day).

Context

European Commission rural development policy aims to improve competitiveness in agriculture and forestry, improve the environment and countryside, improve the quality of life in rural areas and encourage the diversification of rural economies.

As agriculture has modernised and the importance of industry and services within the economy has increased, so agriculture has become much less important as a source of jobs. Consequently, increasing emphasis is placed on the role farmers can play in rural development, including forestry, biodiversity, the diversification of the rural economy to create alternative jobs and environmental protection in rural areas.

The FSS continues to adapt to provide timely and relevant data to help analyse and follow these developments.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Farm structure: historical data (1990-2007) (t_ef)

Database

Farm Structure (ef)

Dedicated section

Ad-hoc tables: Farm Structure Survey

Methodology / Metadata

External links

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