Analysis of the Agricultural Land Market Transactions in Selected Regions of Slovakia in the Years 2007–2016

Abstract

Abstract Despite the fact that the agricultural land market in Slovakia has developed in recent years, the overwhelming part of agricultural land in Slovakia is utilized in the form of rent. Only a small part is managed by the landowners themselves. It is therefore necessary to create mechanisms that would make it easier for both beginners and experienced farmers to acquire land as a basic factor of production. It is also important to create conditions enabling agricultural land to continue to serve its purposes and be acquired by persons who are competent for the management of the land and will manage it in compliance with the criteria of good agricultural and environmental practice. Research and analysis of factors affecting the land market and the rental market with agricultural land will also play an important role in these directions. During the evaluated period 2007–2016, we analyzed 244,374 land plots of agricultural land in twelve districts of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred also as SR). In the twelve districts of Slovakia, from 2007 to 2016, the average market price agricultural land without a distinction of size categories showed a fluctuating trend. Higher values of the average market price of agricultural land were recorded in the first years of the reviewed period. The highest value of the average market price was recorded in 2008 and amounted to 2.76 €.m−2. During the monitored period, from 2007 to 2011, the average market price had always values exceeding 1 €.m−2. In the reviewed twelve districts of Slovakia during the monitored period, the sold area of agricultural land represented acreage of 100,574 ha. From this acreage, the largest share (58.41%) scored arable land followed by permanent grassland with a share of 40.92%. Orchards marked the 0.43% share of the total acreage and the smallest share (only 0.23%) of the total sales was represented by vineyards.