Page 360 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 360
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
economic issues faced by the agricultural sector and the social strife faced
by the peasants. Let us again point out that as much as 60% of the farms at
the time had less than 5 ha of land. Yields of such farms were very low. De-
tailed ratios are presented in Table 15.1.
Table 15.1: Estimated average income of farms in the 1930s (in dinars)
Fields Up to 2 ha 2–5 ha 5–10 ha 10–20 ha 20–50 ha Over 50 ha
Meadows 1,150 3,700 7,100 10,700 14,000 31,000
and pastures
Vineyards 240 1,430 2,800 5,300 11,000 41,500
Gardens
and orchards 540 1,246 1,500 1,850 2,020 8,000
Forest
Total 180 432 750 1,020 1,380 8,000
45 240 420 2,080 5,240 36,600
2,155 7,048 12,570 20,950 33,640 125,100
Source: Uratnik 1938, 61.
While profitability was low on farms with up to 10 ha of land, there
were significant differences between various types of farms. Profitability
increased steeply as farms approached or exceeded 10 ha of land. Profita-
bility of the farms becomes even more telling and tangible if we compare
it to the average industrial worker’s salary at the time. In the late 1930s,
the worker’s average yearly pay was about 9,000 dinars (Kresal 1995, 13).
The numbers speak for themselves and offer a glimpse of the depth, extent
and class structure of poverty in the Slovenian countryside. We further ap-
proach a realistic assessment of countryside poverty if we also take into ac-
count the average family size. It was estimated at the time that the aver-
age peasant family had slightly upwards of five members (Maister 1938, 94).
Small farms were thus unable to provide anything more than bare subsist-
ence and even that was often in question.
In light of the data presented above, Anton Pevec called for the abol-
ishment of half of all farms in Slovenia, as they were supposedly not eco-
nomically viable. Vinko Möderndorfer added that, due to their depend-
ence on extra-agricultural work, the position of small farmers, particularly
those with less than 2 ha of land, already approached that of wage workers
(Möderndorfer 1938, 155). Möderndorfer stated that because of the impossi-
bility of surviving just on agriculture, members of peasant families should
358
economic issues faced by the agricultural sector and the social strife faced
by the peasants. Let us again point out that as much as 60% of the farms at
the time had less than 5 ha of land. Yields of such farms were very low. De-
tailed ratios are presented in Table 15.1.
Table 15.1: Estimated average income of farms in the 1930s (in dinars)
Fields Up to 2 ha 2–5 ha 5–10 ha 10–20 ha 20–50 ha Over 50 ha
Meadows 1,150 3,700 7,100 10,700 14,000 31,000
and pastures
Vineyards 240 1,430 2,800 5,300 11,000 41,500
Gardens
and orchards 540 1,246 1,500 1,850 2,020 8,000
Forest
Total 180 432 750 1,020 1,380 8,000
45 240 420 2,080 5,240 36,600
2,155 7,048 12,570 20,950 33,640 125,100
Source: Uratnik 1938, 61.
While profitability was low on farms with up to 10 ha of land, there
were significant differences between various types of farms. Profitability
increased steeply as farms approached or exceeded 10 ha of land. Profita-
bility of the farms becomes even more telling and tangible if we compare
it to the average industrial worker’s salary at the time. In the late 1930s,
the worker’s average yearly pay was about 9,000 dinars (Kresal 1995, 13).
The numbers speak for themselves and offer a glimpse of the depth, extent
and class structure of poverty in the Slovenian countryside. We further ap-
proach a realistic assessment of countryside poverty if we also take into ac-
count the average family size. It was estimated at the time that the aver-
age peasant family had slightly upwards of five members (Maister 1938, 94).
Small farms were thus unable to provide anything more than bare subsist-
ence and even that was often in question.
In light of the data presented above, Anton Pevec called for the abol-
ishment of half of all farms in Slovenia, as they were supposedly not eco-
nomically viable. Vinko Möderndorfer added that, due to their depend-
ence on extra-agricultural work, the position of small farmers, particularly
those with less than 2 ha of land, already approached that of wage workers
(Möderndorfer 1938, 155). Möderndorfer stated that because of the impossi-
bility of surviving just on agriculture, members of peasant families should
358
