engleski

A Century of a Family Farm Survival in Croatia

In the 20th century, the majority of human, land and capital resources of the Croatian agriculture were located in family farms. Their development, same as development of the Croatian agriculture, was considerably influenced by the historical, political and economic factors of the time. An example of a family farm from the Sisak region, its development and transformations, shall be used to illustrate the agricultural and economic history of the 20th century. At the onset of the century, the farm had 18 members who lived in the joint household, an integrated kindred, organizational and production unit. Lead by and autocratic owner - the sole owner, the joint household worked 19.5 ha of land and had some thirty heads of different sorts of cattle. When the Second World War started, the joint household disintegrated into three family farms. Today, only one farm - the one we call "Ivan" - is involved in agriculture. Despite harsh political and economic conditions imposed on the rural areas and agriculture after the Second World War, due to skill of the owner and the power of the family, the "Ivan" farm survived and even multiplied its agricultural production and farm assets by several times. Although "Ivan" farm is a successful family farm having in mind the Croatian situation, it is not attractive enough for its successors who have been abandoning agriculture and the researched farm. The farm is in pursuit of new avenues of survival within the framework of the current economic conditions, while its reproduction is highly uncertain.

family farm; joint household; historical changes; agrarian policy

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