Agrarne reforme i napredak poljoprivredne proizvodnje u Slavoniji tijekom 1960-ih
Agrarian Reforms and the Progress of Agricultural Production in Slavonia during the 1960s

Summary/Abstract: Agriculture in Slavonia underwent a long and complex transformation during the twentieth century, shaped by both the inherited agrarian structure and state institutional intervention. The dominance of small and fragmented peasant holdings, limited access to capital and technology, and agrarian overpopulation were fundamental obstacles to the modernization of agricultural production. Although agrarian reforms in the first half of the century altered the ownership structure, they did not lead to the creation of optimally sized farms, nor did they enable significant growth in productivity. Traditional agricultural production remained largely oriented toward subsistence, with limited application of modern agrotechnical measures. After the Second World War, the socialist authorities attempted to accelerate modernization through agrarian reform, collectivization, and the development of the social sector in agriculture. Agrarian reform further fragmented private holdings, while the attempt at collectivization failed to produce sustained growth in production due to an inadequate material base, limited investment, and peasant resistance. Administrative measures, including compulsory procurement and taxation policies, often had a discouraging effect on private producers, thereby slowing the development of the sector. A significant turning point occurred in the mid-1950s, when the policy of forced collectivization was gradually abandoned and a model of cooperation between private producers and the social sector was introduced. General agricultural cooperatives enabled peasant households to gain access to modern means of production, including mechanization, improved seed varieties, and artificial fertilizers, as well as more secure market access. A decisive role in the modernization of agriculture during the 1960s was played by agroindustrial combines and state agricultural enterprises. The increase in productivity was also closely linked to the broader processes of industrialization and deagrarianization. Industrial development enabled part of the agrarian population to find employment outside agriculture, thereby reducing pressure on land resources and increasing output per agricultural worker. Despite these changes, private holdings remained the dominant form of ownership, and modernization was not the result of their disappearance, but rather of their integration into a broader system of socially organized production. This resulted in the emergence of a model combining private ownership with social organization of production, enabling substantial productivity growth despite the continued fragmentation of landholdings. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that the advancement of agricultural production in Slavonia resulted from a long-term process of structural transformation, whose decisive momentum occurred during the 1960s. The key factors in this process were the development of the social sector, the establishment of cooperative relations with private producers, increased investment, and the broader process of industrialization.

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