Organic farming is a perspective way of farming which has a positive impact on the environment while addressing various economic and social aspects, contributing to the sustainable development of the rural areas as well as to the protection of all components of the environment.Organic farming has been existing in Slovakia since 1991. More significant increase is evident from the accession into the EU when Slovakia adopted the commitment to increase the acreage of agricultural land for the implementation of organic farming. At the same time it was possible to draw farmerś subsidies for the establishment and functioning of organic production. This factor played an essential role in 2004 and between 2008–2009 when the most significant impact on the development of active farmers was evident. At the present (2013) there are 355 organic farmers in Slovakia, out of this amount 11 belong to the process of conversion. There is the highest share of organic farmers in Prešov region (24.42%) and Košice region (17.44%). The lowest amount of organic farms is evident in Bratislava (3.78%) and Trnava (5.81%) regions. From the focus of agricultural production point of view the animal organic production prevails the plant production. The main motivation behind the farmers ‘decision to change the conventional to organic production is still a financial incentive to compensate the loss of the income from reduced production and additional costs related to the implementation of organic farming. The motivating factor would definitely be the farmerś support from the part of the state in the forms of enhancement of the sales of organic products, improved counseling system and promotion

In Slovakia, the large-scale acquisition of agricultural land in combination with land concentration represents a legitimate threat that can lead to land grabbing. Based on the research, two interrelated areas of protection need to be effectively regulated to limit land grabbing: the protection of access to land and the protection of agricultural land. Due to the absence of relevant data analysis regarding this issue, the main aim of the study was to analyse the emergence of land concentration in Slovakia based on historical and cultural factors and to evaluate the current legislative and institutional framework of both aspects of land protection with a possible impact on the successively graduating threat of land grabbing. In particular, analytical methods were used, presenting the data from secondary literature sources, a questionnaire survey, and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Slovakia. The research shows that although the state has adopted the necessary legal framework for the protection of property rights to agricultural land, it is not possible to enforce it, as the institutional framework for its implementation is absent. It is also the state’s malfunctioning land protection regulatory mechanism and the absence of indirect action instruments that may be key indicators leading to the processes of industrial agriculture. Therefore, the adoption of legislation limiting agricultural land acquisition is important, but the processes of land grabbing presume the state’s complex provision of a regulatory mechanism and adoption of strategic measures aimed at sustainable land quality and food security.

Industrialization of agriculture is associated with the creation of negative externalities of intensive agriculture. The situation has developed pressure to create alternatives to intensification, such as organic farming, which role is defined in Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007: consumer demand for healthy and safe food and the public interest in protecting the environment and the interest of the state in the health of its inhabitants, even though organic farming is a minor alternative and is necessary to support conditions for its existence. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of state support in the field of organic farming from legislative, political, institutional and financial perspectives, and to identify the main incentives as well as the barriers to the development of organic farming. In this paper we used in particular qualitative methods of survey (interviews with relevant stakeholders). In order to get a holistic picture, an analysis of the economic situation of organic farmers was conducted based on the available data. Based on the results of the paper it can be stated that although farmers have an interest in producing their products (plants and animals) in organic farming, the Slovak Republic has not created sufficient conditions to increase the share of organic farming in agriculture. Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovak Republic

The conflict of interests in agricultural land use based on the diversity of needs of private and public interest is the main problem of the current protection of agricultural land in Slovakia. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to identify factors affecting the withdrawal of agricultural land, i.e., conversion of the agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes, and to initiate a professional discussion on the concept of protection and use of the agricultural land in Slovakia. Through panel regression models, the developmental, territorial, and legislative factors affecting land withdrawal for the purpose of housing, industry, transport, mining, and other purposes were analyzed. Research has shown that developmental factors, compared to legislative ones, affect the total volume of agricultural land withdrawn in bigger scope. From the perspective of the conflict of interests between the individuals and state regarding land protection, the private interest prevails over the public one. As a consequence, agricultural land is withdrawn in suburbanized and attractive areas, where the land of the highest quality is mostly located. In accordance with the precautionary principle, the state should adopt a long-term conceptual document defining the areas of agricultural land use taking into account the impact of the developmental factors on the land protection.

The traditional form of land management in Slovakia was represented by common lands and regulated by the legal form of urbariates or composite sorates, later reintroduced in the form of land associations. The aim of the article is to evaluate the transformation processes of the common lands and identify its contribution to community resilience against land conflicts by interviews realized among selected land associations. The results of the research point to the lack of motivation of owners of land associations to efficiently and sustainably use common land, which mostly becomes objects of rent with the view of quick profit. At the conclusion, we propose a set of measures that we recommend the state to apply in order to unify and streamline the activities of land associations in Slovakia.

The area of ​​agricultural land withdrawn for non-agricultural purposes is gradually increasing worldwide, which is mainly due to the conflicting interests of entities that are interested in the use of this natural resource. Between 2009 and 2020, agricultural land in the area of ​​more than 16,000 ha was withdrawn in Slovakia for non-agricultural purposes. It can be considered a threat that the purpose of withdrawal is mostly industrial and subsequently housing, from which it is possible to predict the continuing intensification of industrial production and the growing agglomeration of regional cities. The role of the state in this regard is to introduce tools for its protection so that its production as well as ecological functions are ensured in a sustainable way. The aim of the paper is to evaluate changes in agricultural land use in Slovakia in the context of analysis of implementation tools aimed at protecting agricultural land, using descriptive and regression analysis of available primary and secondary sources. The result thus points to the increased need of protection and reduction of the rate of withdrawal of agricultural land from the agricultural land fund (at least within the highest quality groups with the highest impact for individual withdrawal purposes), more specifically the land belonging to groups 2 and 3, in order to stabilize the agro-sector, which is vital in terms of its functions, among other things, as well as in the field of biodiversity protection, food self-sufficiency and landscape maintenance. The protection of agricultural land as a component of the environment is not a priority interest of state policy, and therefore its implementation is vague and non-conceptual in terms of current progress and the needs of the society.