Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2002, 48(6):251-258 | DOI: 10.17221/5313-AGRICECON
The contemporary stage of the Czech countryside: European integration expectations
- Czech University of Agriculture, Prague, Czech Republic
The contemporary Czech countryside underwent an important change during the last ten years. The political, economic and social system of agriculture and rural areas went through a basic transition. We can say that the transformation of agriculture after 1989 is one of the principal milestones of rural development, as for example the agrarian crisis in the end of the 19th century, the land reform in 1919 and the collectivisation in 1949. The processes of restitution and privatisation changed the ownership structure of land and property. The share of rural population employed in agriculture decreased. Unemployment grew, offer of work opportunities and possibilities decreased in turn. Social, civic and religious life regenerated. There are many new organizations and institutions, open borders cause positive as well as negative events. The Czech countryside comes near to European rural areas in many aspects. However, there is a considerable differentiation of approach to one's own future. Some social groups of rural population were strongly affected by the transformation, especially people with low qualification, poor health, socially handicapped, less adaptable, and incapable of retraining. On the other hand, for other social groups opened so interesting options of employment or enterprise which were not even thinkable of before 1989. The standard of living, life style and attitudes of rural inhabitants differentiate. Results of a nation-wide research, "Trends of Social Change in Agriculture and Rural Areas", predicate main changes in the economic and social spheres. Detailed knowledge of economic and social processes of the Czech countryside is necessary for co-operation within the framework of the European Union.
Keywords: Czech countryside, rural areas, agriculture, rural development, changes in the countryside
Published: June 30, 2002 Show citation
References
- Majerová V. et al. (2000): Trendy sociálních zmìn v zemìdìlství a na venkovì (Trends of social changes in agriculture and countryside). Final research paper, VS 97097, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, CR, Prague. Sample of 2 142 respondents from rural municipalities up to 2 000 inhabitants.
- Trnková V. (2001): Srovnání trendù v zamìstnanosti v ÈR a SR (Comparison of the employment trends in CR and SR). In: Majerová V., Bernáthová I., Novotná E.: Regionální a sociální rozvoj venkovských oblastí (Regional and social development of rural areas). Final report of the OSF grant, Prague, p. 14.
- Buchta S. (2001): Agrárna nezamestnanos a životné podmienky na slovenskom vidieku (Agrar unemployment and life conditions in the Slovak countryside). Collected works of the seminar Regional and social development of rural areas, CUA FEM DH, September.
- Kudrna L. (2000): Volný èas (Free time). In: Majerová V. et al.: Trendy sociálních zmìn v zemìdìlství a na venkovì (Trends of social changes in agriculture and countryside). Final research report, VS 97097, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, CR, Prague.
- Maøíková P. (2000): Hodnoty (Values). In: Majerová V. et al.: Trendy sociálních zmìn v zemìdìlství a na venkovì (Trends of social changes in agriculture and countryside). Final research report, VS 97097, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, CR. Prague.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.