Multidimensional comparative analysis of other gainful activities of agricultural holdings in EU countries

Over the past few years, diversification and pluriactivity of farmers and farming households has been increasing in EU-27countries. But the type of diversification activity encouraged, as well as their scale, appears to be very different across the EU. Therefore the analysis of spatial diversification of other gainful activity of farm households in EU countries is the main purpose of this paper. 27 UE countries described with 9 variables relating to the non-agricultural activity of farms are the analysed objects. The carried survey helps to show spatial disparities and to discriminate groups of countries with a similar farmers non-agricultural activity. There were used chosen methods of multidimensional comparative analysis which enable clustering the multicriterial objects: Czekanowskis diagram, Wards method, and k-mean algorithm. As a final result there were formed 5 clusters with countries about similar level of farm diversification. It may be stated, that a development of diversification of agricultural holdings is correlated with a spatial arrangement. Neighbouring countries belong to the same clusters of other gainful activity kinds