Page 372 - 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. 372
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
practices of income diversification, as well as the factors promoting them,
recall very closely the integrated peasant economy system, although major
changes in the market and industrial economy had taken place, facing the
peasants with new challenges besides the old ones. Due to enduring cau-
ses, the diversification of sources of income in fact remained indispensable
in the interwar period as well, since the fragmented land holding structure
precluded peasants from covering the living costs of themselves and their
families solely with the income from agricultural activities. This was par-
ticularly true for farmers who owned less than 5 ha of land. On the other
hand it is important to note how peasants worked to diversify their sources
of income not only from necessity but also from their desire to improve the
stability and quality of their families’ living standard.
In this regard, the historical change of government and the legal sys-
tem in 1918 didn’t bring a radical change in comparison with the 19th cen-
tury Habsburg Austrian framework. Policies supporting income diversi-
fication lived on, as did the awareness of their necessity. State and local
authorities recognised the seriousness of the situation and actively support-
ed the policies of the peasant’s income diversification through professional
courses that offered peasants the opportunity to acquire or improve hand-
icraft skills and experience. At the same time, owners of large farms were
expected to lead the way and transform agricultural production accord-
ing to the entrepreneurial model. The organisational structure that pro-
vided support for income diversification had already been in place under
the Habsburg Monarchy. Slovenian authorities in the context of Yugoslavia
simply continued using the tested models of political, economic and social
measures to provide support for income diversification, particularly based
on cottage industries as an important factor of the economic and social sta-
bilisation of agricultural households during the interwar period.
Bibliography
Bilimovič, A. 1939. Agrarna struktura Jugoslavije in Slovenije v primeri z agrar-
no strukturo nekaterih drugih dežel, Ljubljana: Socialno ekonomski insti-
tut.
Bilten Priviligovane agrarne banke 1937, 3–4.
Bogataj, J. 1989. Domače obrti na Slovenskem. Ljubljana: DZS.
Bratko, I. 1938. ‘Gibanje cen in naše kmetijstvo.’ Obzorja 9: 396–7.
370
practices of income diversification, as well as the factors promoting them,
recall very closely the integrated peasant economy system, although major
changes in the market and industrial economy had taken place, facing the
peasants with new challenges besides the old ones. Due to enduring cau-
ses, the diversification of sources of income in fact remained indispensable
in the interwar period as well, since the fragmented land holding structure
precluded peasants from covering the living costs of themselves and their
families solely with the income from agricultural activities. This was par-
ticularly true for farmers who owned less than 5 ha of land. On the other
hand it is important to note how peasants worked to diversify their sources
of income not only from necessity but also from their desire to improve the
stability and quality of their families’ living standard.
In this regard, the historical change of government and the legal sys-
tem in 1918 didn’t bring a radical change in comparison with the 19th cen-
tury Habsburg Austrian framework. Policies supporting income diversi-
fication lived on, as did the awareness of their necessity. State and local
authorities recognised the seriousness of the situation and actively support-
ed the policies of the peasant’s income diversification through professional
courses that offered peasants the opportunity to acquire or improve hand-
icraft skills and experience. At the same time, owners of large farms were
expected to lead the way and transform agricultural production accord-
ing to the entrepreneurial model. The organisational structure that pro-
vided support for income diversification had already been in place under
the Habsburg Monarchy. Slovenian authorities in the context of Yugoslavia
simply continued using the tested models of political, economic and social
measures to provide support for income diversification, particularly based
on cottage industries as an important factor of the economic and social sta-
bilisation of agricultural households during the interwar period.
Bibliography
Bilimovič, A. 1939. Agrarna struktura Jugoslavije in Slovenije v primeri z agrar-
no strukturo nekaterih drugih dežel, Ljubljana: Socialno ekonomski insti-
tut.
Bilten Priviligovane agrarne banke 1937, 3–4.
Bogataj, J. 1989. Domače obrti na Slovenskem. Ljubljana: DZS.
Bratko, I. 1938. ‘Gibanje cen in naše kmetijstvo.’ Obzorja 9: 396–7.
370
