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Small Farmers in Post-socialist Serbia and Croatia – A Qualitative Analysis of Life- strategies in 10 Agricultural Households

Small farmer households in both Croatia and Serbia are exposed to the influences of various unfavorable structural factors, which establishes them as a vulnerable social group marked by constant existential insecurity. In this study we analyze the interviews conducted with the members of 10 small farmer households, aiming to identify and describe their life- strategies as well as situate them within the broader social context. The in-depth analysis of strategies and practices of interviewed households is conducted for multiple social fields and combined with the description of the types and levels of capitals they have (Bourdieu, 1998). The practices are analyzed in relation to particularities of local geographies (Caldwell, 2004). Strategies will be situated within in the context of the changed role of the state as well as in the framework of “diverse economic practices” (Smith and Stenning, 2006). One of the study findings is the compatibility of the capital and practices of interviewed small farmers with the concept of the “poverty of resources” (de la Rocha, 2001). In that context, the study examines the use of social capital, the changes of quality and intensity of social networks brought on by the economic crisis and the importance of non-monetary exchanges. Paradoxically, the interviewed small farmers perceived the state primarily as a constraining and penalizing factor instead as an enabling and supportive factor in both Croatia and Serbia. In the context of their insecure market position and fluctuating demands, a few of the interviewed small farmer households developed an entrepreneurial identity and used various strategies to adapt, while those with more traditional strategies expressed severe existential insecurity and hardships in coping with their insecure economic position.

small farmers, life-strategies, practice, social capital, economic crisis

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