Change of asset efficiency in EU agriculture: challenges for new members

Efficiency of farm assets is a very important factor of competitive production. It is in strong correlation with profitability of economic activities. One of the most important factor of the farm assets is the fixed assets, especially machinery. As it could be observed during the 1980s and 1990s on the farms of developed countries, the technical development was a considerable factor of farming. During that period the technical supply of farms increased significantly, at the same time the farm labour decreased, so the labour productivity rose considerably. This paper, based on the data of FADN, focuses on the investigation of some figures of the European Union for asset and labour efficiency between 1989 and 2005, and analyses what happened after 2004 when 10 new member countries accessed to the EU. The most important results of the research are that the farms of the new member countries are equipped at a considerably lower level in general and at the same time they use farm assets less efficiently than farms of the former member countries, and the result is that the competitiveness of the farms of new members is significantly lower. On the other hand, in the new member countries the agricultural policy focused on developing arable farming, so the gaps in the labour productivity are narrower in the field crop farms than in horticulture or animal husbandry. The gap in the labour productivity is the widest at the large-scale farms, which can be explained not only with less assets but with lower capital efficiency as well.productivity, labour, FADN, Productivity Analysis,

Factors of Efficiency Change of Assets on the EU-15 and Hungarian Farms from 1990s

Efficiency of farm assets is a very important factor of competitive production. It could be in strong correlation with profitability of economic activities. One of the most important factor of the farm assets is the fixed assets, and as a part of it, the equipment as well. An important factor of the farm asset value is the machinery, which depends on the amount of internal resources of farms and external financial resources i.e. governmental subsidies, bank loans. But, as it could be observed during the 1980s and 1990s on the farms of developed countries, the technical development was also a considerable factor of farming. This paper, based on the data of the FADN, and yearbooks of the HCSO, focuses on the investigation of some figures of the European Union for capital efficiency between 1989 and 2003, and compares these experiences with the Hungarian changes on the farms during the 1990s.gross margin, farm number, farm structure, productivity, FADN, Farm Management,

Modeling of the Connection Between the Ecological Farming and Farm Sizes under Hungarian Conditions

Nowadays, the spread of ecological farming occurs in an ever-accelerating rate in Europe. In the beginning of the 1990s, this process started in Hungary too. Primarily, horticultural bioproduct have appeared on the market; however, farms, which can be regarded as a sample, formed out relatively fast, and made products qualified as plough-land bulk goods, first of all for export, but a stratum in Hungary also starts to interest for these products. In our research, we looked for an answer to the question, how the economic condition system of ecological production forms out in Hungarian circumstances, on which farm sizes farming can be made profitably. We started by adapting the earlier model researches that current farm sizes in Hungary, are too small yet, so that one could make profitable production, at the same time, farmers, who affiliate in time, may reach extra sales revenues in comparison to the traditional (factory-) farming, by producing bio-products, which, however, can ensure the capacity of living of such farms, which were in unliveable under the earlier circumstances. Simultaneously with the spread of ecological farming, this advantage will decrease, therefore the time factor has an important role, at the same time, the capacity expansion not confirmed with consumers' demands, takes this income advantage away. Under Hungarian circumstances, according to the present conditions 1) depending on the extent of the bio extra price 2) the income level covering the costs, reduces the profitable farm size from about 100 ha to 20-60 ha. This gives hope for farmers, whose farm size is considerably smaller (under 10 ha) that the farm size, on which profitably production can be made, is in a relatively reachable distance. To realize this, the state should definitely urge the farms on this, by the available direct and indirect tools.Farm Management,

Challenges and Opportunities for Agriculture of Central Europe According to Farm Structure and Abounding with Capital

Hungary and Poland are two applicant countries, which know the date of the admission into European Union, but the problems of the agriculture are great in both of them. The ways to the recent conditions were different, but the economic situation is similar. In Poland, mainly on the Eastern part of the country, there is a huge number of traditionally small farms operating under the economic size limit, and which are usually have not got adequate farming implements to up-to-date technologies, and their effectiveness is low. At the same time on the Western part of Poland there are Prussian type, better-mechanized, more effective large scale farms. In Hungary as a result of the economic transition the earlier large scale farms were privatised and great number of small farms came into being, which had not got any technical assets to the competitive agricultural production, and there are considerable number of private large farms mainly with "inherited" technical equipment from the earlier large scale farms. Based on these conditions the questions are: how many farms could be competitive with Western ones and how many farms have to be operated because of employment of rural people; how the efficiency of farm assets could be increased and how many investments are necessary to develop the farms to a competitive level.Farm Management,

LIVING STANDARD, QUALITY OF LIFE IN NORTH-EAST HUNGARY BASED ON A SURVEY

living standard, quality of life, liveability, North-East Hungary, regional differences, questionnaire surveyliving standard, quality of life, liveability, North-East Hungary, regional differences, questionnaire survey, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Labor and Human Capital,

Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Restructuring of Agribusiness in the CEE Countries Following the Transition

The foreign direct investment (FDI) is a form of the capital flow having several century traditions. In the privatization as well as modernization of economies following the economic and political transition of the countries in the Central and Eastern Europe at the 1990s the role of the foreign direct investment was significant. According to the research, besides to the general positive effects of the FDI (production culture, market demand orientated product and technology innovation, supplier nets of SMEs, diffused know-how, quality demands, etc.) also led to economic dependency as well as market structure deformations (see oil industry, sugar industry, retail chains). The point of view of sectors the foreign direct investment has flowed insignificantly into the agriculture (raw material production), while it has been significant into the food industry. The paper discusses the relations as well as causes of them.Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

A bizalom és függÅ‘ség szerepe a családi gazdaságok együttműködésében végzett gépi munkákban

A tanulmány a családi gazdálkodók együttműködési hajlandóságát befolyásoló tényezÅ‘ket vizsgálja – Békés megye egy tradicionálisan mezÅ‘gazdasági termelÅ‘ térségében készült – kérdőíves felmérés és mélyinterjúk tapasztalataira alapozva. A gazdálkodói bizalom és az együttműködési hajlandóság összefüggését elemezve megállapítható, hogy az alacsony függÅ‘séget, egyben alacsony bizalmi szintet is igénylÅ‘ (valójában csak tágabban annak értelmezhetÅ‘) együttműködési formák (jellemzÅ‘en a gépi bérszolgáltatás) elfogadottsága a jellemzÅ‘. Ugyanakkor a fiatalabb generációknál az erÅ‘sebb függelmi kapcsolatokkal jellemezhetÅ‘ (a hagyományos értelemben vett) együttműködések elfogadottsága nagyobb, amely az agrárgeneráció-váltás bekövetkeztével esélyt teremt az együttműködési formák megerÅ‘södésére, megerÅ‘sítve a családi gazdálkodást, a vidéki közösségeket. Nemzetközi tapasztalatok, illetve a vizsgálatokban készített mélyinterjúk alapján megállapítható az is, hogy a kormányzatnak a közvetlen és közvetett orientációs eszközök alkalmazásával fontos a szerepe az együttműködési hajlandóság alakulásában, illetve ösztönzésében. ---------------------------------------------------- The paper addresses the factors affecting the willingness of family farmers to cooperate, using a questionnaire-based survey and interviews carried out in a traditionally agricultural region of Békés county. The analysis of the level of trust by farmers and their willingness to cooperate shows that the forms of cooperation most accepted (typically, hiring others to perform machine work) are those which require a low level of dependency as well as a low level of trust (which can only be considered a form of cooperation in the broad sense of the word). At the same time, the forms of cooperation involving a greater degree of dependency (cooperation in the traditional sense) are more acceptable for the younger generation. This fact offers a chance that once the new generation of agricultural players grows up, cooperation may strengthen, bringing about a strengthening of family farming and of rural communities. International experience and the detailed interviews held for the purpose of the study also indicate that the Government can significantly influence the level of willingness to cooperate by applying direct and indirect orientation tools.bizalom, függÅ‘ség, versenyképesség, hatékonyság, géphasználat, trust, dependence, competitiveness, efficiency, machine use, Agribusiness, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Public Economics,

The Importance and Role of Trust in Agricultural Co-operation – Some Empirical Experiences from Hungary

This paper examines the relations of trust in agricultural cooperation from two aspects. On the one hand, it gives a short review of relevant literature, with special regard to agri-food economy. On the other hand, it uses the results of empirical survey for the analysis of trust in machinery sharing arrangements of Hungarian agricultural producers. In connection with this, the trust is examined in two dimensions: contractual and competence trust. Our results prove that there is a positive correlation between the level of trust and the farmers’ activity in cooperative agreements. It could also be proved that the trust need is very different in the different fields of cooperation. It is a tendency that the contractual trust is more important in more intensive, higher-dependence cooperation activities, while competence trust becomes into the foreground in the more extensive solutions.Agribusiness,

Foot Volume Change during Long Distance Running in Healthy Adults

Background and purpose: Healthy adults frequently engage in running as a means of cardiovascular exercise. Larger running shoes are often chosen based on common beliefs that feet swell during running, yet many continue to encounter foot injuries, such as blisters, as a result of this activity. Previous research has analyzed the changes in foot volume during short bouts of activity. However, there has been limited research on the effect of long distance running on foot volume, which is where many of these injuries are seen. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of long distance running, defined as 10 kilometers (10K), on foot volume in healthy adults. Subjects: Twenty-eight healthy subjects (18 females and 10 males) participated in the study. Methods: Upon arrival, participation information (gender, running status) and baseline foot measurements (shoe size, foot volume) were obtained. After a 5 minute warm up, participants completed the 10K run at a self selected speed. Immediately following the completion of the run, comparison measurements were once again taken. Results: No difference was found between pre and post volumetric measurements (p=0.897). There was a significant interaction in pre and post volumes between individuals classified as runners and non-runners (p=0.014) but simple main effects were inconclusive. A significant difference in the pre-run (p=0.006) and post-run (0.001) volumes of the two groups was observed, but there was no significant change in the foot volume of the runners (p=0.100) or the non-runners (p=0.065). No relationship existed between the difference in shoe to measured foot size and the foot volume change (p=0.436). There was no significance between gender and volume change (p=0.868). A statistically significant relationship was found to occur between outside temperature and foot volume change (r=0.419). Discussion: Running a 10K did not result in a significant change in foot volume, even when subjects were divided by running status or gender. Since previous research has seen a trend towards foot volume increasing following short runs and decreasing following a marathon, a 10K run may be an equilibrium point between when a foot initially swells and when it shrinks smaller than its initial volume due to extraneous variables associated with a longer run (i.e. dehydration). Change in foot volume was related to the outside temperature, which may also be related to increased dehydration during runs in hotter temperatures. Conclusion: This study found temperature as the only variable affecting foot volume following a 10 K run, with higher temperatures resulting in a greater change in foot volume. Due to the existence of several design flaws, the results should be interpreted with caution. Future studies should control for more of the confounding variables, by completing the run indoors and increasing the number of participants in order to improve overall power