Page 361 - 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. 361
peasant economy in interwar slovenia – policies of income diversification
have an opportunity to find employment in industry or in the service sec-
tor. And that is what happened in the interwar period. In a relatively short
time span, industrial capacity and the number of jobs in industry doubled.
As elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the textile industry was at the forefront,
and the scales of domestic product, or income, had already tipped in favour
of non-agricultural activities. Such a course of events contributed greatly
towards the mitigation of social issues, as the 50,000 to 60,000 new indus-
try jobs (Križanič 1996, 39) helped resolve the existential problems of 250
to 300,000 people. Many members of peasant families found employment
outside their farms, and their income often contributed towards the sub-
sistence of their families. Close to industrial centres, the practice of daily
commuting to industry jobs became quite common. In the case of Ljublja-
na, there are documents indicating daily commuting to work from towns
and villages up to 20 kilometres away, mostly those close to railways (La-
zarević 2014a, 354). In spite of the progress and the numerous employment
options outside agriculture, however, the issue of the peasantry was not yet
resolved. In fact, to let it be resolved before WWII, as many new jobs would
have been needed as they already had been, since the 1930s data on peasant
indebtedness indicated that at least 250,000 people in the Slovenian coun-
tryside still remained on the path to bankruptcy (Lazarević 2009, 106–21).
Measures were necessary that would also help the situation of the peasant-
ry in the short term.
3. Reality: Three farm-cases
By way of example, we present three cases of farm management at three
completely different farms in terms of holding and income structure. These
cases, reflecting the fundamental dilemmas of agricultural management,
illustrate the effectiveness of managing small and mid-sized farms. The
broader context of the study is thus complemented by a case study indica-
ting the economic practices of individual farms. The comparison of income
and expenses is more than telling and indicates the fundamental dilemmas
of agriculture during the interwar period.
The first case is a small farm based in Drašiči in Bela krajina (Pirc 1938,
87). The farm had 4 ha of land in total, 2 ha of which were fields, 16 acres
were vineyards and the rest were meadows and forests. The farm offered
subsistence to seven people, two of whom were children below seven. In
1936–37, their yield was worth 8,780 dinars. The farm produced wheat, bar-
ley, millet, buckwheat, potatoes, beans and wine; however, this was still not
359
have an opportunity to find employment in industry or in the service sec-
tor. And that is what happened in the interwar period. In a relatively short
time span, industrial capacity and the number of jobs in industry doubled.
As elsewhere in Eastern Europe, the textile industry was at the forefront,
and the scales of domestic product, or income, had already tipped in favour
of non-agricultural activities. Such a course of events contributed greatly
towards the mitigation of social issues, as the 50,000 to 60,000 new indus-
try jobs (Križanič 1996, 39) helped resolve the existential problems of 250
to 300,000 people. Many members of peasant families found employment
outside their farms, and their income often contributed towards the sub-
sistence of their families. Close to industrial centres, the practice of daily
commuting to industry jobs became quite common. In the case of Ljublja-
na, there are documents indicating daily commuting to work from towns
and villages up to 20 kilometres away, mostly those close to railways (La-
zarević 2014a, 354). In spite of the progress and the numerous employment
options outside agriculture, however, the issue of the peasantry was not yet
resolved. In fact, to let it be resolved before WWII, as many new jobs would
have been needed as they already had been, since the 1930s data on peasant
indebtedness indicated that at least 250,000 people in the Slovenian coun-
tryside still remained on the path to bankruptcy (Lazarević 2009, 106–21).
Measures were necessary that would also help the situation of the peasant-
ry in the short term.
3. Reality: Three farm-cases
By way of example, we present three cases of farm management at three
completely different farms in terms of holding and income structure. These
cases, reflecting the fundamental dilemmas of agricultural management,
illustrate the effectiveness of managing small and mid-sized farms. The
broader context of the study is thus complemented by a case study indica-
ting the economic practices of individual farms. The comparison of income
and expenses is more than telling and indicates the fundamental dilemmas
of agriculture during the interwar period.
The first case is a small farm based in Drašiči in Bela krajina (Pirc 1938,
87). The farm had 4 ha of land in total, 2 ha of which were fields, 16 acres
were vineyards and the rest were meadows and forests. The farm offered
subsistence to seven people, two of whom were children below seven. In
1936–37, their yield was worth 8,780 dinars. The farm produced wheat, bar-
ley, millet, buckwheat, potatoes, beans and wine; however, this was still not
359
