Agriculture in the EU and position of the Slovak Republic

Abstract

The paper analyses disparity in the performance of farms in the EU countries and identifies their causes. The individual countries are ranked in the paper according to the long-term average of the amount of their agricultural produce per unit of area into seven segments, and the relation between the input of fixed assets, intermediate consumption, labour force, levels of animals, and other aspects are identified for the creation of agricultural production. In terms of its performance, the Slovak agriculture ranks in the last but one seventh segment and in comparison with the advanced countries, it shows a low input of fixed assets, intermediate product, livestock units, but also a lower volume of the provided subsidies than the advanced countries. The Slovak agriculture does not make use of its competitive advantages, which involve mainly the size of businesses, the economies of scale, and the productivity of labour.