Structural Changes of Farmer’s Farms: Case Study of Lithuania

Puslapiai nurodyti pagal pataisytą leidinįDue to historical circumstances, the development of Lithuanian commercial farmer’s farms is slow; however, farmer’s farms are very important to the vitality of rural areas while developing agricultural commodities and goods. The purpose of this article – to analyze the structural changes in farmer’s farms and present the directions of future development. Structural changes in Lithuanian farmer’s farms during the 2005 – 2015 timeframe were analyzed while looking at the diagnostic indicators, which are the following: the number of farmer’s farms, the structure of farmer’s farms according to their size, the activity units of farmer’s farms, age of farmers, farmer’s farms sources of income. In order to study the statistical data, methods of systemization, logical analysis and generalization were applied. The analysis of the statistical data suggests that the following structural changes are taking place in Lithuanian farmer’s farms: the number of registered farmer’s farms increases and the farmers’ are getting younger. One of the most significant factors causing the structural changes in holdings – the EU financial support for the agricultural development and the changing customer demands. More and more often rural areas perform residential function and new living areas are developed. There is a predominance of the small farms (up to 10 hectares). This is mainly a result of the reform in agricultural sector at the end of 20th century. Many small agricultural holdings were established due to this reform. However, significant changes occur while choosing and/or combining the activity units of the farm: the number of farms specializing in crops increases, the number of the holdings focusing on livestock and combined farming (crops and livestock) is declining; also, farmer’s farms with diversified income or the activity units grow in number.[...]Vytauto Didžiojo universitetasŽemės ūkio akademij