Page 62 - 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. 62
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
ors of western Slovenia almost half of the landlord’s revenues (summing
income from land rent, public functions and converted corvée labour – Ro-
botgeld) was paid in money, which proves that the peasantry did not subsist
on agricultural activity only, but also sought out non-agricultural sources
of income. The desires of landlords to receive feudal rent in money direct-
ed the peasants towards the market, which the landlords supported (Pan-
jek 2011; Panjek 2015a, 196).
On the one hand, Panjek corroborates the findings of Gestrin and
Grafenauer that peasant’s involvement “in a mixture of commercial and
transport activities was undoubtedly a necessity,” as it enabled them to
reach the level of subsistence and pay rents and taxes. On the other hand,
he believes that
the fact that it was a necessity does not mean that it was a passive-
ly accepted solution. On the contrary, the multiplication of house-
holds beyond the level of subsistence provided by land indicates
that the rural population counted on and exploited the possibility
of access to alternative activities […] the peasant’s response to mar-
ket demand was not so much in terms of choice and kinds of pro-
duce as in terms of major or minor opportunities to engage in ex-
tra-farming activities (Panjek 2015a, 196–7).
According to Panjek, the reason behind their engagement in “supple-
mentary activities” is not only necessity, but also their perception of non-ag-
ricultural activities as a potential means for an additional source of income.
This allowed for the fragmentation of huba and the formation of new peas-
ant households, as the subsistence of the latter did not depend solely on
the yield of the lands they were cultivating. Peasants thus “counted on the
possibility of access to other activities, and used it actively and systemati-
cally” (Panjek, 2015a, 202). Non-agricultural activities therefore “represent-
ed an element in the more complex and comprehensive economic strate-
gy of the rural population, in which one part of subsistence was provided
by the farm and the other by additional employment, which ranged from
cross-border smuggling to day labour” (Panjek 2014, 202).
Based on these findings, Panjek recommends the definition of “inte-
grated rural economy” for Slovenian lands as a system with a characteris-
tic integration of agricultural and non-agricultural sources of income from
the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. A more thorough definition
reads:
60
ors of western Slovenia almost half of the landlord’s revenues (summing
income from land rent, public functions and converted corvée labour – Ro-
botgeld) was paid in money, which proves that the peasantry did not subsist
on agricultural activity only, but also sought out non-agricultural sources
of income. The desires of landlords to receive feudal rent in money direct-
ed the peasants towards the market, which the landlords supported (Pan-
jek 2011; Panjek 2015a, 196).
On the one hand, Panjek corroborates the findings of Gestrin and
Grafenauer that peasant’s involvement “in a mixture of commercial and
transport activities was undoubtedly a necessity,” as it enabled them to
reach the level of subsistence and pay rents and taxes. On the other hand,
he believes that
the fact that it was a necessity does not mean that it was a passive-
ly accepted solution. On the contrary, the multiplication of house-
holds beyond the level of subsistence provided by land indicates
that the rural population counted on and exploited the possibility
of access to alternative activities […] the peasant’s response to mar-
ket demand was not so much in terms of choice and kinds of pro-
duce as in terms of major or minor opportunities to engage in ex-
tra-farming activities (Panjek 2015a, 196–7).
According to Panjek, the reason behind their engagement in “supple-
mentary activities” is not only necessity, but also their perception of non-ag-
ricultural activities as a potential means for an additional source of income.
This allowed for the fragmentation of huba and the formation of new peas-
ant households, as the subsistence of the latter did not depend solely on
the yield of the lands they were cultivating. Peasants thus “counted on the
possibility of access to other activities, and used it actively and systemati-
cally” (Panjek, 2015a, 202). Non-agricultural activities therefore “represent-
ed an element in the more complex and comprehensive economic strate-
gy of the rural population, in which one part of subsistence was provided
by the farm and the other by additional employment, which ranged from
cross-border smuggling to day labour” (Panjek 2014, 202).
Based on these findings, Panjek recommends the definition of “inte-
grated rural economy” for Slovenian lands as a system with a characteris-
tic integration of agricultural and non-agricultural sources of income from
the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. A more thorough definition
reads:
60
