Dušan Drabik (Wageningen University-AEP) Has Agricultural Land Consolidation Increased Farmland Rents in Slovakia?

Although a bird’s-eye view shows large plots of agricultural land in Slovakia, this perception is quickly dismissed when looking at the cadastral maps. The fragmentation of agricultural land in Slovakia materializes not only in shape and the number of parcels in cadastral regions but also in the number of co-owners of individual parcels. In my presentation, I will first provide a brief historical context that helps understand the status quo. I will devote the rest of the presentation to the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture program that aims to reduce the adverse effects of fragmentation on the functioning of the land market by consolidating land ownership. My presentation aims to provide empirical evidence for whether or not the land rents in cadastral regions that have already undergone land consolidation are significantly higher than in other regions.