GEOGRAPHICAL TYPES OF HUNGARIAN AGRICULTURE

GEOGRAPHICAL TYPES

OF HUNGARIAN

AGRICULTURE

GEOGRAPHICAL TYPES OF HUNGARIAN

AGRICULTURE

(STUD IES IN GEOGRAPHY NO. 3)

S ix p a p ers in this book give in sig h t in to th e researh work con d u cted b y th e G eographical I n s titu te o f th e H u n g a ria n A cadem y o f S ci­

en ce s. Progress of m ethod s an d c o n c e p ts o f agricultural geograp h y in gen eral, and particu larly in H u n g a r y , has made it p o ssib le fo r a well-organized te a m o f research ers to reveal th e areal stru ctu r e o f Hungarian agricu ltu re.

L a t e s t developm ents in th e d e lim ­ ita tio n o f regional ty p e s an d p h y sic a l conditions o f sp e c ia liz a ­ tio n h a v e b een discussed, a n d also th e co m m o d ity structure in th e lig h t o f value indices ex a m in ed . S p e cia l papers deal w ith th e areal ty p e s o f in tensive b ran ch es o f p la n t p rod u ction and sto ck b r ee d ­ in g , as w ell as th e p a rticu la r fe a tu r e s o f the three sa n d -a rea s o f H u n g a r y . The p oints o f lan d u se h a v e been analysed in a W est- H u n g a r ia n and in an E a st-H u n - g a ria n com m unity. B e sid e s th e s c ie n tific concern of th e work, a lso it s practical sign ifican ce d e ­ se r v e s consideration in t h a t it p r o v id e s m aterial for fu r th e r or­

g a n iza tio n a l plans of th e S ta te O rgans.

II II

A K A D É M IA I KIADÓ B U D A P E S T

GEOGRAPHICAL

TYPES OF HUNGARIAN AGRICULTURE

A U T H O R S

I S TVÁN ASZTALOS G Y Ö R G Y E N Y E D I B É L A S Á R F A L V I L ÁS Z L Ó S I MON

A K A D É M I A I KI A D Ó , B U D A P E S T 1966

P U B L I S H I N G H O U S E OF T H E H U N G A R I A N ACADE MY OF S C I E N C E S

T ran slated by

E L E K B 1 B 0

@ Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest 1966

P rin te d in H u n g a ry a t the A cadem y P ress, B u d ap est

R esponsible fo r publication: G y ö rg y B e rn é t, D irector of th e Publishing House of th e H u n g a ria n A cadem y of S ciences a n d of th e A cadem y Press

R esponsible e d ito r: Tinre G om bos Technical e d ito r: K lára W aller

Preface 7 György Enyedi

The progress of geographical typology of agriculture in Hungary 9 László Simon

Some problems of intensive agriculture in Hungary IS István Asztalos

Areal types of stockbreeding in Hungary 92

Béla Sárfalvi

Sand cultures in Hungary 47

László Simon

Land utilization in a community of the Nyírség 57 Béla Sárfalvi

Land utilization in a West-Hungarian community 70

References 83

T he G eographical In s titu te of th e H u n g a rian A cadem y of Sciences has u n d e r­

ta k e n th e task of ascertaining th e geographical types of H u n g a rian a g ri­

cu ltu re . In th e research w ork new proceedings have been evolved b y m aking use of th e m ethods and experiences of agrogeography. A lthough th e w ork has no t y e t been com pleted, it seems w o rth while review ing the resu lts achieved so far.

T he o bject of th e research is dual:

(a) The scientific one is to reveal in d etail th e geographical division of la b o u r of H ungarian agricu ltu re. P arallel studies have been m ad e to establish I he attra c tio n -a re a s of th e in d u stria l centres an d to clarify tra n s p o rt relations.

In tim e these investigations ru n se p a ra te ly per branches will result in th e delim itatio n of com plex econom ic regions and in th e disclosure of th e ir econom ic stru ctu re .

(b) The practical p oint concerns th e specialization of ag ric u ltu re. A t p resent th e average size of the farm s in H u n g a ry is ab o u t 1500 h e c ta re s. The m ain ly self-sufficient, w eakly specialized sm all p ea san t farms of th e p ast (prior to 1959 averaging ab o u t 3 hectares) h av e been surrendered to large-scale fa rm ­ ing w ith increasing specialization, th e fu rth e r d evelopm ent of w hich, how ever, is also depending on th e conditions determ ined b y geographical facto rs. Therefore project studies on th e regional plans of ag ric u ltu re (e x te n d ­ ing to 1980) are elaborated b y th e G eographical In stitu te of th e H u n g a rian A cadem y of Sciences. T he elaboration of these plans h as been designed w ith a view to th e program m e of th e C entral P lanning Office.

B ased on an ex h austive analysis of th e areal d istrib u tio n of the agricul­

tu ra l branches, th e geographical ty p e s of H ungarian ag ric u ltu re are now d eterm in ed — according to th e w orking p rogram m e — sy n th e tic a lly , m a in ly by m eans of economic index num bers. B y th e spatial fixing of the typ es the regions are delim ited, and again an a ly tica lly , tak in g also a d v a n ta g e of th e lan d -u tilizatio n m apping, th e farm ing on th e m is characterized . Thus th e different conceptions of agrogeography h av e been united in a w orking com ­ plex (com bining th e m ethods of w orking u p of the in d iv id u a l branches, th o se of th e regional evaluation and th e determ ination of th e ty p e-fo rm ­ ing factors), and b y such proceeding the deficiencies of th e single m e th ­ ods have been corrected while th e ir values preserved.

The developm ent of the m ethods and concepts of agrogeographical research in H u n g a ry , and also th e results of th e synthesis m ade w ith econom ic m ethods, are described in th e first paper. S ta rtin g out from s tru c tu ra l ex a m in a­

tions of th e production value and m a rk e t production, th e m ain typ es an d th e geographical d istrib u tio n of th e a g ric u ltu ra l production arc determ ined, for the tim e being on the d istrict scale.

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The second stu d y , following th e m eth o d s of th e first p ap e r b u t lim iting investigations to th e in ten siv e branches, is likewise sy n th e tic in ch a rac te r and deals w ith th e geographical ty p e s of intensive agricu ltu re.

The w orking phase concerning th e bran ch es is o u tlin e d in th e th ird p ap e r of th e book which deals w ith the ty p es of stockbreeding in H ungary.

The fo u rth stu d y is a regional trea tise , ch aracterizin g lan d utilization on H ungarian s a n d y areas.

In th ese tw o papers m entioned last an insight into th e m ethods of land- utilization su rveys is given. The d ra w n -u p m apsheet is supplem ented b y a detailed ev a lu a tio n w ith te x t.

The an a ly tic a l survey of th e bran ch es having been already com pleted, now the a c tu a l research is m ainly concerned w ith regional studies of lan d utilization.

György E n yed i

by GYÖRGY ENYEDI

A fte r W orld W ar II, agrogeography, looking h ark in H u n g a ry upon a fairlv long p ast (il was preceded only b y th e settlem ent, geography), became I he b e st developed b ra n c h in a m u ltila te ra l econom ic geography. This was m a n i­

fest in th e a c tiv ity of scientists an d specialists producing a larg e n um ber of p u blications; otherw ise th e research w ork w as for a long tim e characterized b y m ethods w hich w ere u n ip lan ar to a certain ex te n t, and b y a lack of new concepts. Ten y ea rs ago th e H u n g arian agrogeographers, m o st of whom w ere young and a t th e beginning of th e ir careers, had n o t y e t disposed of an ad e q u ate in te rn a tio n a l survey; th u s no u p -to -d a te w orking m eth o d could force its w ay ah ead w ith o u t difficulty.

P rio r to W orld W a r II, how ever, H u n g a rian economic geog rap h y was far below in tern a tio n al stan d ard s. P ra c tic a lly tw o of its b ran ch es, settlem en t an d population g eography and th e agrogeography h ad already been developed, b u t even these b a d been c u ltiv ated only b y few research w orkers. F rom th e en d of th e th irtie s, w hen an o p tim u m u tiliz a tio n of ag ric u ltu ral areas was p ro m p te d b y th e w a r p rep aratio n s, th e geographical problem s of th e agrarian p ro d u c tio n were d e a lt w ith m ainly by agronom ists and econom ists. F or th is reason, and for lack of o th er geographical t raditions, a u n ila te ra l economic view has m ade its influence felt in agrogeography well up to th e present d ay s. This holds tru e , however, for in te rn a tio n a l research, to o ; th e m ost com prehensive reg ularities concerning the geographical location of agriculture w ere form ulated b y econom ists (T hünen, Lösch).

If th e road of developm ent covered by agrogeography in w orld relation is review ed, considerable changes in th e agrogeographical conception m ay be observed. The progress can be b roken down in to four phases (J. K ostrow icki 1960).

T he first period is characterized b y th e descriptive agrogeography which w as developed from th e com m ercial geography about th e e n d of the 19th c e n tu ry . The basis for its ad v ancem ent was created b y th e uniform ca p ital­

istic world m ark e t w hich was th e n coming in to existence. T his descriptive agrogeography co n ten tin g itself w ith th e enu m eratio n of p ro d u ctio n sites, sizing up the q u a n titie s and m ark e tin g possibilities of th e vario u s ag ri­

c u ltu ra l products, could supply w orld tra d e an d colonization policy w ith useful inform ation. I t was n o t b y m ere chance th a t th is conception took sh ap e first in G reat B ritain and th en in th e U n ite d S tates. In th is ‘archaic age’

of agrogeography no ivesligations w ere m ad e into the basic conditions or socio-economic form s of production. Owing to a belated developm ent of h er agrogeography, th is tendency did n o t come in to practice in H u n g a ry .

I t was th e so-called general econom ic geography (m ore correctly th e branch-econom ic geography) th a t gave rise to th e concepts of th e second

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phase of developm ent in agrogeography. This conception m arked by special investigations in th e b ranches ex te n d s th e scope of descrip live geography by revealing, alread y w ith an alm ost com plex m ethod of approach, th e physical conditions and social b ackground of th e geographical location of p ro d u ctio n , as well as m a rk e t relationships, connections w ith o th e r branches of ag ri­

culture, etc. In th is period agrogeography becomes (conceptually) an in d e­

p en d e n t p a rt of econom ic geography.

This conception h ad im pressed its m a rk on H u n g a rian agrogeography from th e beginning. The m a jo rity of th e publications a f te r W orld W ar II deal w ith one or a n o th e r individual b ra n c h of agricu ltu re, conducting research e ith e r thro u g h th e w hole te rrito ry of th e cou n try or in a m ajor areal u n it.

The prevalence of th e b ranch conception in th e p a s t fifteen years m ay bo explained b y th e following factors: a stro n g influence of th e econom ic view of ap p ro ach (branch studies have been best developed in H ungarian politico- econom ic sciences); a striv in g a fte r p ractical ap p licab ility (national econom ic planning has covered only sep arate b ra n ch es until th e recent past); ow ing to the re la tiv e ly small te rrito ry , th e geographical differences are not conspicuous in the co u n try , th ere fo re th e d e te rm in a tio n of a sp a tia l com plex of p ro d u c­

tion branches, th a t is, of th e a g ric u ltu ra l regions (of areal production types) is an in tric a te ta sk fo r which the te a m of voting research w orkers h a d but insufficien tly been prepared.

The research w orks w ith b ra n ch c h a ra c te r h av e achieved fair results, p a rtic u la rly by disclosing the geographical p a tte rn s of ag ricultural p ro d u c­

tio n . In th e final issue, how ever, th is conception is no longer considered as u p -to -d a te and can h a rd ly be d elim ite d from th e agrarian econom ists' in v estig atio n s into m a tte rs of sp ecialization and areal allocation.

The th ird tre n d of research based on th e regional conception has been developed from th e regional geog rap h y . I t deals w ith areal ad m in istrativ e u n its an d unfolds th e full p a tte rn of ag ric u ltu ra l p ro d u c tio n in these. In itia lly also th is w as stuck in a kind of d esc rip tiv e m ethod, from which it g ra d u ally developed tow ards th e analysis of th e agriculture of such areas as could be d elim ited as research units. In H u n g a ry this tre n d has never really been w idely accepted, b u t ‘the evaluation of th e physical o p tim a ’, th e re su lts of w hich are not (o be u n d e rra te d , can be ran k ed to this.

In itia lly th e ag ric u ltu ral region re searc h dealt w ith th e evaluation of the physical-geographical factors w ith a view to agrarian p roduction; at p resent it could sooner be called an ap p lied physical g eography th a n econom ic geography. C om m encing from th e e a rly fifties, how ever, it com bined ex a m ­ inations of b o th physical and econom ic conditions, an d th e assessm ent of the p roduction p o te n tia l of th e areal u n its becam e its scope.

In th e p ast few y e a rs th e regional conception re a p p e a re d suddenly also in the agrarian-econom ic studies an d g ain ed m om entum in th e d elim itatio n of regional units of ag ricu ltu re. These econom ic regional u n its differ from th e p roduction regions of I he economic g eo g rap h y m ainly in t h a t in th eir d e lim ita ­ tion little atte n tio n lias been p aid to th e geographical factors an d to the in terre latio n s betw een the allocation of p roduction bran ch es and the d is trib u ­ tion of population.

The m ost u p -to -d a te trend of agrogeography is rep resen ted by th e ty p e~

form ing conception. Its origin m ay be found p erh ap s in th e o th erw ise obsolete ag ric u ltu ral conception of h u m an geography. A grogeography as developed from hu m an g eography deals, first of all, n o t w ith q u a n tita tiv e b u t th e q u a lita tiv e aspects of production. A lthough m o st of th e w orks in this line are m ark ed b y a sort of form alistic ap p ro ach system atizing th e outw ard featu res of ag ricu ltu ral production, th u s re v e rtin g th e relation of cause and effect, th e y u n d o u b ted ly have th e m erit of form ally classifying agricultural a c tiv ity in different geographical ty p es. If th e m orphological approach of h u m an geography is replaced b y an economic one, types m eeting th e economic views can be o b tain ed . The d eterm in a tio n of th ese types a n d th e ascertain ­ m e n t of th e ir geographical d istrib u tio n disclosing also p erspectives for th e fu rth e r developm ent of the ty p e s —is in a u th o r’s opinion th e principal in cu m b an c y of an u p -to -d a te agrogeographv.

T he m entioned four conceptions sprang fo rth in succession one after the o th e r, therefore also th e term s ‘p erio d ’ or ‘p h a se ’ have been re la te d to th eir tre n d s. I t is ev id en t, however, t h a t in th e course of tim e th e y interm ingled, som e of th em su rvived after a new conception came into p ra c tic e , and older concepts proved to prevail perh ap s longer th a n th e younger ones.

In in tern a tio n al agrogeography th e four tre n d s can he well distinguished one from th e other. A ccording to a u th o r ’s view, how ever, th ey are o n ly ap p a ren tly in d ep en d e n t. E ach of th e new tre n d s based on th e results of th e preceding one represents a higher level of econom ic-geographical a p p ro a c h , w ithout en tire ly discarding th e results of th e earlier m ethods. Therefore in o u r research w ork perform ed w ith the m ethod of th e type-form ing concept all m entioned tre n d s have been u n ited in one w orking program m e.

The w ork-process of th e agrogeographical te a m of the G eographical In s titu te of th e H u n g a rian A cadem y of Sciences—in co-operation w ith th e U niversity In s titu te s —m ay be item ized in b rief as follows:

(1) A scertainm ent and evaluation of the physical conditions of agricultural p ro d u ctio n (research in ag ricu ltu ral regions).

(2) Analysis of th e geographical allocation of th e in d iv id u a l production b ranches.

(3) Complex characterization of ag ric u ltu re according to u n it areas (for I he tim e being s ta rt is m ade from ad m in istra tiv e units).

(4) D eterm in atio n of the geographical ty p e s of production a n d ascertain­

m e n t of th e ir areal distribution.

There is no need to em phasize t h a t th is w orking program m e— provided it is successfully perform ed—will su p p ly p ra ctical inform ation on possibilities of regional planning. Since a plan a d ju s te d to th e p articular conditions of th e p ro d u ctio n ty p es can result in a ra p id specialization, the ta s k is of prim ary im p o rtan ce in an agriculture t h a t is fu rth e re d on a large-scale level. B ut an exact d eterm in atio n of th e produ ctio n typ es is a m ajor concern of science as well, since in general this has been regarded a ‘weak p o in t’ of H ungarian econom ic geography, and the problem has n o t y e t been solved reassuringly b y an y of the num erous relevant p ublications issued so far.

The fo u rth w orking phase—d eterm in a tio n of th e ty p e s—h a s no t been closed as yet. The recent achievem ents in th e first three w orking phases m ay be resum ed as follows:

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T he given physical conditions h a v e been in v estig ated b y a group of agrono­

m ists, physical- a n d economic g eo g rap h ers. Their sh a re of work was to e s ta b ­ lish th e possibilities of production of im p o rta n t p la n t cultures, w ith a view to th e jo in t im p a c t of clim atic a n d soil factors, including such d etails as thick n esses of fe rtile soil-layers, critic a l periods of p recipitations and te m ­ p e ra tu re , effects of relief conditions, g ro u n d w ater ta b le , etc.

Fi g. 1. P ro d u c tiv ity of the su g arb eet regions related to n atio n al average, 1960

1 = fa r below; 2 = below ; 3 = abo u t; 4 = a b o v e ; 5 = high above

T he geographical research into th e ag ricultural bran ch es has been com ­ p le te d , and th e b u lk of the papers published.

F o r th e d elim ita tio n of p ro d u c tio n regions for v ario u s plant species a fo rm u la was em p lo y ed b y which b o th th e extension of th e sowing area and th e in d ex of crop averages w ere synchronously show n (the regions were estab lish ed on d is tric t scale w ith th e m ethod of B e rn á t). The com p u tatio n w as m ade in th e follow ing w ay: cro p yields in th e d istric t y/a (where y =

= y ield of the p la n t, a = sowing a re a of the p lan t) w ere plotted a g a in st th e total crop area of th e district (^4): y /a ■ a / A = y / A . T his ratio represents th e a v e rag e yield c o m p u te d for th e total area of th e d istric t. By re la tin g th e av e rag e yield to th e in d ex com puted in a sim ilar w ay on national, i.e. c o u n try scale ( y clac • ac\A c— y c\ A c where th e ‘c ’ index m eans a reas or yields on co u n try scale) th e ‘p ro d u c tiv ity co-efficient’ w as obtained ( y / A : y c/ A c = y /A ■ A cly~).

L e t us illu stra te th is b y an exam ple: O f the n atio n al crop area of 5.7 m illion ha w h e a t is grow n on i million h a w ith a 15 q /h a y ield . Thus the to ta l yield ol w h e a t am ounts to 15 million q u in ta ls . If in one of th e districts th e to ta l crop area is 50,000 h a, of which 15,000 ha bear w h e a t w ith a 23 q /h a yield,

th en th e to ta l yield of w heat eq u a ls 345,000 q u in tals in th e d istric t. The above index for th e exam ined d is tric t is 262 (the final result is m u ltip lied by 100, sim ilarly to th e percentage calculation), i.e. the area of th e d istric t is by 162 p er cent m ore productive fo r w heat th a n the to ta l crop area of the co u n try . The p ro d u c tio n regions of 23 plants w ere ascertained w ith a sim ilar m ethod, for the illu stra tio n of w hich th a t established for su g arb eet is p re­

sen ted (Fig. 1).

C om plex ag ric u ltu ral surveys w e re draw n up only from the ce n tral and so u th ern p arts of th e G re at Plain a n d from the n o rth e rn m o untainous region (fully published are tho se covering th e D an u b e—Tisza M idregion an d the so u th -ea ste rn G re at P lain), while th e w orking-up of tlie d a ta referring to the o th e r parts of th e G reat P lain is actu ally in course. In tiiese w orks the c u rre n t m ethods of regional m onographs have been followed. In each of th e w orks endeavours w ere m ade in o rd e r to delim it th e regions an d the m inor u n its (m icroregions) b y the s tru c tu ra l exam in atio n of production v alu e and m a rk e t production.

T he th ree first w orking phases are of analytical, w hile th e fo u rth is prim arily of sy n th e tic a l ch a ra c te r. To o b ta in synthesis is, how ever, ra th e r difficult:

com plex economic a n d geographical syntheses are ru n parallel an d in th e final issue, these are sum m arized fo r th e d eterm in a tio n of th e final types.

P ro p erly speaking, th is duality is obvious also in th e preceding (third) w orking phase. F o r th e ch a rac te rizatio n of th e ag ric u ltu re in th e individual areas economic indexes, such as s tru c tu re of sowing, supply of m anpow er, level of crop yield, etc. are equally used, and so arc th e large-scale land- u tiliz a tio n m aps show ing the ex ten sio n of th e useful area, and its relation to th e physico-geographical conditions.

T he m ethod of th e double sy n th esis consists: (a) in th e d eterm in a tio n of the econom ic c h a ra c te r of p roduction b y m eans of the stru c tu re of production an d of th e m ark et p roduction expressed in value num bers, (b) in th e d e te r­

m in atio n of th e geographical c h a ra c te r of p ro d u ctio n by m eans of synoptic lan d -u tilizatio n m aps.

In previous papers th e au th o r h a s already expounded at le n g th th a t the o u tp u ts of all the bran ch es of p ro d u c tio n cannot be ad eq u ately sum m arized unless b y m eans of v alu e num bers (E nyedi 1957a, 1961). The general types of p roduction w ere determ ined b y th e s tru c tu ra l exam ination of th e gross p ro d u c tio n value. R esu lts to be p re se n te d on th e second line of th e synthesis, i.e. in lan d -u tilizatio n m apping, a re even m ore sca n ty , these w orks having been com m enced o n ly in the recent p ast. In som e countries, c.g. in Poland or E n g lan d , lan d -u tilizatio n m ap p in g is considered b y th e geographers as giving proper basis for typology. S u c h m aps arc likely to be sa tisfa c to ry in the U n ited S tates for th e separation of its bells, but are hardly satisfac to ry in H u n g a ry , where th e ty p e of p ro d u c tio n (by w hich prim arily th e ty p e of specialization is understo o d ) is d e te rm in e d freq u en tly by p la n t cultures of m in o r areal extension, or by an im al species (e.g. poultry) w hich m ay not alw ays require such a large fodder-grow ing area as would evidence any ex plicit anim al-keeping character. T h e im portance of lan d -u tilizatio n m apping is h ig h ly ap p reciate d b y th e a u th o r, its role, how ever, in th e d eterm in a tio n of types is considered as of a com plem entary, in fo rm ativ e n a tu re . T hus the

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gen eral, fu n d a m e n tal type is d e te rm in e d by m eans of economic synthesis, w hile a fully d e ta ile d ch a rac te rizatio n of the ty p e is boosted b y the land u tiliz a tio n survey.

T he fu n d am en tal typ es were d eterm in e d on th e d istrict (m unicipal) scale th ro u g h o u t the w hole country. T he fu n d a m e n tal typ es were d eterm ined by m ean s of such re p re se n ta tiv e b ra n c h e s of p ro d u ctio n as are in d icativ e of the specialization. A b ra n c h was qu alified as re p re se n ta tiv e if (a) it provided at le a st 15 to 20 p er c e n t of the gross p ro d u ctio n v alue, (b) accounted for at le a s t 20 per cent o r m ore of the v a lu e of cash p ro d u cts, (c) its areal ratio (or th e ratio of s ta n d a r d anim al sto ck ) exceeded (w ithin th e d istrict) the n a tio n a l average.

T he consideration of these co n d itio n s had been justified by th e following reaso n s:

B y v irtu e of th e aforesaid, th e s tru c tu re of th e gross p ro d u ctio n value is Lo be considered as a n atu ra l in itia l basis. The ind icated lim it values are em p irical figures, a certain s u b je c tiv ity is unav o id ab le in th is respect. The lim it values were b y n o means tr e a te d rigidly, in m arginal cases o u r decision w as m ade in co n sid eratio n of th e re su lts o b ta in e d th ro u g h the preceding phases.

T he exam in atio n of th e m arket p ro d u c tio n was considered necessary as it is in d icativ e of th e b ra n ch es which p la y im p o rta n t role in the n a tio n a l division of lab o u r, th a t is, in th e external re la tio n s of produ ctio n , while b y th e first in d e x only the in te r n a l stru c tu re of th e p ro d u ctio n can be characterized.

S om e production b ra n c h e s supplying th e local needs of th e producers (m ainly w ith feed-stuffs, b u t also b re ad g ra in s, p o u ltry a n d pigs) follow essentially th e n u m b er of local consum ers, w h ic h m eans t h a t in regions w ith a high d e n sity of a g ric u ltu ra l pop u latio n — or in th e case of feedstuffs, w ith a high d e n sity of livestock— these p ro d u c tio n branches m ay be significant and m ay p a rtic ip a te in th e p ro d u c tio n v alu e to a notab le e x te n t w ithout p laying any role in th e g eo graphical division of lab o u r. Therefore we chose to classify as c h a rac te ristic th o se b ranches only, w hich play a re m ark ab le role n o t only in th e in te rn a l s tru c tu re of p ro d u c tio n b u t also in its external relations. The th ir d condition s tip u la te s th a t th e produce of th e characteristic branches sh o u ld be w orth m en tio n in g . It m a y o ccur m ainly in tow ns, in d u strial regions, m o u n tain o u s areas t h a t q u a n tita tiv e ly insignificant branches represen t a high proportion w ith in the s tru c tu re of ag ric u ltu ral production, for in such areas agriculture p la y s generally q u ite a su b o rd in ate role. These non-agri- cull ural areas h a v e b een ranked as special types. T here rem ained also a type in w hich none of th e p roduction b ra n c h e s has com plied w ith the above-noted stip u la tio n s. These a re characterized b y a m ixed farm ing, lbe specialization of w hich is si ill r a th e r prim itive.

T he investigation revealed the ex isten c e of d istricts the production character of w hich could h e determ in ed b y a single b ra n ch , while th a t of others by tw o branches. (No d istric ts have b een found w here m ore th a n two branches h a d m et the above-m en tio n ed con d itio n s.) In a n u m b e r of d istricts several b ra n c h e s of p ro d u c tio n of some im p o rta n c e can be discerned, though none of th e m fulfils the conditions of a le a d in g branch. These areas were qnalilied as conducting a ‘m ix e d p ro d u c tio n ’. F inally, those nou-agricu llu ral towns

w ere dealt w ith sep arately in th e agriculture of which no d istin c t (tow n- supplying) c h a ra c te r has developed.

'The fu n d a m e n tal geographical typ es are as follows:

(a) B readgrain growing is now adays, ow ing to a co n stan t regression of this culture, a b ra n c h c h a rac te ristic only for small areas, m ain ly in th e C en tral G reat P la in (towns of G re a t C um ania), being associated there w ith pig-breeding w ith an equal ra n k .

(b) The fodder produced is m o s tly used up fo r foraging th e local livestock.

T he fodder p ro d u ctio n of these a reas comes to expression th ro u g h the tre n d of th e stockbreeding. I t can be m en tio n ed as re p resen tin g a degree of specializa­

tion only w here also m arket p ro d u c tio n is considerable; sucb is th e case, for exam ple, in th e n o rth e rn m o u n tain o u s regions, w here spring b arle y is m ark e ted n o t as fodder crop b u t as brew ing barley, or in C entral T ra n sd an u b ia w here m aize production exceeds the re q u irem en ts of th e local livestock.

(c) Various in d u stria l plants a re grown, b u t none of th em has developed in to a ch a rac te ristic branch.

(d) P o ta to alone or jo in tly w ith ca ttle m an ag em en t im p rin ts th e ch a rac te r of production on tw o im p o rta n t areas: th e in n er Somogy a n d the N yir-

ség.

(e) V egetable grow ing is o u tsta n d in g east of the Capital, in th e Kalocsa d is tric t and in th e southern T rans-T isza R egion, m ostly in association w ith pig breeding.

(f) F ru it characterizes the p ro d u c tio n n o rth an d west of the C apital.

(g) V iticulture is conspicuous on three areas: in the ce n tral p a r t of th e D a n u b e—Tisza M idregion, in th e Gyöngyös a n d in the T apolca districts.

In th e m ajo rity of the historical w ine regions (Tokaj, Eger, etc.) it occupies so sm all areas as n o t to be brought in to relief b y exam inations on d istric t scale.

(h) C attle m anagem ent d eterm in es th e c h a ra c te r of production on contig­

uous areas of considerable e x te n t, exhibiting its im portance in th e w estern an d southw estern p a rts of T ra n sd an u b ia and on th e L ittle P lain , as well as in th e basins a n d valleys e x te n d in g from th e N orthern C entral M ountains to th e north.

(i) Pig-breeding is a p ro d u ctio n branch characterizing p a rts of eastern T ran sd an u b ia, th e Trans-Tisza R egion an d th e D anube—Tisza M idregion.

A m ong all the p ro d u ctio n b ra n ch es this ex ten d s to the largest area.

(j) P o u ltry raisin g represents a specialized p roduction b ra n ch in the so u th ­ e a ste rn G reat P la in and in so u th B ara n y a in association of eq u al ran k w ith pig-breeding a n d exceeds in im p o rta n c e all th e plant-grow ing b ranches, and th e cattle-b reed in g , too.

In general, it m ay be estab lish ed th a t in th e m ajo r p art of th e c o u n try ’s area (where a specialization can be ascertain ed a t all) th e c h a ra c te r of the geographical division of labour is d eterm ined e ith e r by one of the anim al breed in g branches or by h o rtic u ltu ra l b ranches. Bread- an d coarse grains grow n on the w idest areas, occupying 60 to 65 a n d on the G re a t P la in even 75 to 80 per cent of the arable la n d s, do n o t p lay a conspicuous p a rt in the specialization. T his provides one of the reasons w hy lan d -u tilizatio n surveys expressing the size of areas are n o t em ployed in H u n g a ry as points of d e p a rtu re in revealing the geographical ty p e s of ag ric u ltu re (Fig. 2).

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Fig. 2. Geographical types of agriculture

1 = cattle; 2 = c attle, p o u ltr y a n d sheep; 3 = c a ttle a n d coarse grain; \ = caLlle and p o tato ; 5 = p ig ; 0 = pig and p o u ltry ; 7 = v eg etab le; 8 = grape-vine; 0 = b re a d g ra in ; 10 = m ixed

Fig. 3. Areas investigated for establishing Lite geographical types of agriculture, 1962

1 = on the d is tric t scale; 2 — o n th e co m m unity scale

The m entioned m ain types are te rrito ria lly m o stly contiguous one with th e o th e r and are interm ingled in a m osaic-like p a tte rn in only a few cases.

T herefore our p resen t broad in v estig atio n s can re su lt only in th e a sc e rta in ­ m en t of some h y p o th e tic a l region boundaries. In order to rev eal all the v a ria n ts of th e ty p e s and to d e m o n stra te th eir ex a ct geographical situ atio n fu rth e r investigations will have to b e conducted, according to th e program specified in th e In tro d u c tio n . In v e stig atio n s carried out w ith sim ilar m ethods b u t on parish scale will detect fu r th e r types and b e tte r clarify, for exam ple, th e role of in d u strial plants, or c e rta in h o rtic u ltu ra l branches. Also the im p o rtan ce of grassland- or pasture m anagem ent w ithin a given a re a , which ca n n o t be revealed w hen the m e th o d synthetizing in value is em ployed, will be set in a p ro p e r light b y t h e land utilizatio n m aps. S uch detailed investigations have been com pleted for two counties (Békés, C songrád, rep resen tin g 12°/0 of th e country’s crop land), th e ir p articulars w o rk e d up, and b y v irtu e of th e ir evidence hopes m ay be en te rta in e d th a t th e m ethod expounded in th e p re sen t paper will furnish correct results, elim in a tin g the deficiencies of the form er ra th e r u n ila te ra l agrogeographical w orks. A fte r all th e studies are com pleted, it is also h o p ed th a t agrogeography will b e in the position to pay off th e serious d e b ts it owes b o th to geographical sciences an d regional planning (Fig. 3).

2

SO M E P R O B L E M S OP IN T E N S IV E A G R IC U L T U R E IN H U N G A R Y by LÁSZLÓ SIMON

A disproportion b etw een the levels of in d u strial a n d ag ricultural productions is a serious p ro b lem in the n a tio n a l economy of H u n g a ry . In 1959 th e contri­

b u tio n by an in d u s tria l b re ad -w in n e r to th e rise of the n a tio n a l income am o u n ted in n e t v a lu e to 51,000 F t against 17,000 Ft c o n trib u te d by an ag ricu ltu ral b re ad -w in n e r.T h e b u rd e n of building socialism is borne in H ungary essentially b y t h e industrial w orking class. T hrough s ta te subsidies and credits, con su m ers’ price policy, etc. also th e developing of aricultural production b u rd e n s in d u stry . T his co n tra d ictio n cannot persist long.

H ungarian n a tio n a l economy is ch aracterized b y an o th er specific feature, n am ely by th e deficiency of in d u s tria l raw m a te ria ls. H ungary has a scanty oil basis, th e iro n ore stocks co v e r hardly 2 0 % of th e requirem ents, th ere is no proper c o tto n production in th e country, a n d no coloured m e ta l ores are available in su ffic ie n t q u a n titie s. These sh ortcom ings cannot be counter­

balanced by th e considerable (also in CMEA re la tio n ) bauxite an d m anganese ore deposits. T herefo re, n atio n al econom y is n o t only induced to p artic ip a te in the division of lab o u r betw een th e CMEA cou n tries, b u t is also compelled to fu rth e r specializatio n in all l he m ain branches, an d to m ain tain a vigorous foreign trade. A g ric u ltu re has to do the sam e in o rd e r to cope w ith its tasks.

On account of sev e ral fu n d a m e n ta l endow m ents, th e tren d of its specializa­

tio n points to w a rd the labo u r-ab so rb in g in te n siv e branches, such as vine-, fru it-, vegetable- a n d anim al h u sb a n d ry , based on large-scale fo dder growing, chiefly poultry - a n d pig-breeding.

F urth er tw o p a rtic u la r m o tiv e s should be stresse d here. F irst, H ungary is one of the c o u n trie s th a t lead in th e statistics w ith very dense agricultural population in th e socialist cam p, an d even in E u ro p e . Viewed in a 20 years perspective, th e r a tio of a g ric u ltu ra l bread-w inners will be in ev itab ly reduced to 18 to 2 0 % fro m the actu al 3 0 % , which will still represent a ra th e r high proportion in an ind u strially developed c o u n try . Thus even in a technically well-evolved a g ric u ltu re those b ra n ch es will correspond to th e given popula­

tion-conditions w h ich require th e largest possible in p u t of live- an d m aterial­

ized labour. T he o th e r consideration is th a t th e physical-geographical condi­

tions in H u n g a ry a re highly a d v a n ta g eo u s for a n u m b e r of intensive branches.

I lungary, s itu a te d on th e n o rth e r n border of th e E uropean maize- and grapevine zone, is p artic u la rly su itab le for g row ing maize, vine an d several M editerranean fr u its . Owing to its a b u n d a n t inso latio n (long sunshine period a n d favourable exposure) a n d soil-conditions, th e sugar-, flavour- and v ita m in -c o n te n t of its fruits, a n d also th e q u a lity of a n u m b e r of other ag ricu ltu ral p ro d u c ts , are u n m a tc h e d th e w o rld over. A t th e sam e tim e H u n g ary disposes of all those fe a tu re s of a h u m id clim ate which render the co u n try su ita b le also to p o ta to and v eg e ta b le growing. M oreover, the

co u n try is abounding in river- and s tr a ta w aters for a v ery effective e x te n ­ sion of irrigation.

So th e n e x t step in th e developm ent of agriculture is to tran sfo rm its production into m ore a n d more in ten siv e branches, th a t is to reorganize the s tru c tu re of agricultural production. Intensificatio n im plies two m ain re q u ire­

m ents: first, th e increase of yields b y m eans of em ploying b e tte r and am pler techniques, secondly, th e extension of th o se branches w hich thro u g h a larger in p u t of live- an d m aterialized lab o u r will w a rran t th e realization of higher values p er u n it area.

“ The ra te of intensification is shown by the ratio of th e in p u t of live- and m aterialized lab o u r re la te d to th e a r e a .” This is one of th e m ost generally accepted definitions (E rdei, Csete a n d M árton 1959. p. 209) which also in a u th o r’s opinion expresses th e essence of th e concept. J o in tly w ith the in p u t we should like to em phasize th e re su lts, th e yield as well, since depending upon physical endow m ents, th e yield m a y be different, even if th e in p u ts are of th e sam e value. C onsequently, th e criterion of intensification is th e in p u t, while its m easure of efficiency is th e ra tio of p roduction value re la ted to unit area. Sim ply: th e forint/cad. y o k e value (1 cad. y o k e = 0 .6 hectare).

The concept of in ten sificatio n —so to sa y —is a ty p e of th e relativ e concept well know n from th e logic. N othing ‘in te n siv e ’ exists in absolute m easure, w h a t does exist is more intensive or more extensive. A produ ctio n b ra n ch m ay be m ore intensive th a n an other, b u t one and th e sam e ty p e of p roduction m ay be m ore intensive to d ay th a n it w as y esterday, an d m ore intensive tom orrow th a n it is to d a y . U nder th e given conditions of H u n g arian ag ri­

culture those p roduction branches are considered intensive which from one ca d a stra l yoke of cropland area produce an unaccu m u lated gross production value of m inim um 5000 F t. G rape-vine and fruits, vegetable p lan ts and green legum es, p o tato an d th e principal industrial p la n ts belong to these branches. S tockbreeding is problem atic. In 1960 a value of 5100 F t on th e n atio n al average was produced per cad. yo k e of fodder-grow ing areas including grasslands and pastu res. According to calculations m ade by th e A graro- Econom ic R esearch In s titu te of th e H u n g a rian A cadem y of Sciences, this value was n o t a tta in e d in the Council secto r. The ‘in ten sificatio n ’ of stock- breeding is, also in a u th o r’s opinion, th e m ost serious stru c tu ra l problem of (he agriculture in H u n g a ry . We shall re v e rt la te r on to this. N evertheless, stockbreeding m ust be d ealt w ith am o n g th e intensive branches, since in some areas the assum ed criterion is h ig h ly surpassed b y it.

Areal specialization, th e task of w hich is an optim um utilizatio n of physical and econom ic conditions, occasionally even by changing these conditions, is inseparable from th e conception of intensification. Areal specialization im plies n o t only th e b e st possible allo catio n of cultures corresponding to physical conditions, b u t m ore th a n t h a t : it m eans th e m ost reasonable areal division o f labour. As such, it is an econom ic concept of agrogeography.

To discuss its direct m eans, i.e. the o p e ra tiv e specialization, is outside the scope of th is paper, b u t its correlation w ith intensification m u st be clarified.

The a u th o r’s d e p a rtu re was m ade from th e view th a t areal specialization is a concept subo rd in ate to in tensification: areal specialization is a m eans of intensifying ag ricu ltu ral production.

2*

20

In order lo rev eal the areal d istrib u tio n of intensive produ ctio n , a th o r­

oughgoing in v estig atio n has b een u n d erta k en . The basic m a te ria l had been fu rn ish ed by th e calculations of th e A graro-E conom ic R esearch In s titu te of th e H ungarian A cadem y of Sciences. These calculations disclose, w ith fullness of details per d istric t, the v alu e of th e 1960 production p er cad. yoke ag ri­

c u ltu ra l area, an d m ainly the s tru c tu re of p ro d u ctio n b y th e percentage d is tri­

b u tio n of th e ac cu m u lated g ro ss-production v alu e of th e Council sector (which includes co o p erativ e farm s, h o u seh o ld plots belonging to th e m em bers of th e cooperative farm s, and th e still existing farm s of indiv id u ally w orking p ea san ts). F u r th e r m aterial w as furnished by th e d a ta of S ta te purchases as p ublished by th e C entral B u rea u of S ta tistics. M u ltilateral calculations were m a d e w ith b o th volum es of d a ta , a n d th e m a te ria l was p lo tte d on more th a n a h u n d re d m ap s. I t is desirable to reflect on som e of th e results obtained.

I n th e following chiefly th e a sp e c ts of intensification in th e m entioned in ten siv e b ra n ch es will be d e a lt w ith . The m ain o bject is to outline th e regions as d eterm in e d by p ro d u c tio n level an d leading b ra n ch es in the in te n ­ sive stru ctu re.

(a) In th e C ouncil sector an av erag e value of 4750 F t (149 dollars) was p roduced per cad. yoke of a g ric u ltu ra l area (Fig. 1). The geographical units of higher p ro d u c tio n level are grouped in five areas of th e m esoregions:

(1) The Region of K őrös, Tisza a n d Maros riv ers; (2) L ittle P la in ; (3) Counties V as and Zala w ith th e K eszthely d istric t of C ounty V eszprém ; (4) Valley of t h e Lower D a n u b e w ith th e jo in in g D ráva V alley an d th e B ácska; (5) th e N yírség and S o u th e rn Somogy re p resen tin g a relativ ely high level, and th e fam ous vine- a n d fruit-grow ing m icroregions of H un g ary .

(b) If th e p ro d u c tio n level is ex am in ed only in relation to th e plough-land, including also th e yield of sto ck b reed in g based on cropland-fodder production, i t will be found t h a t th e m esoregions are essentially id en tical w ith th e areas o u tlin e d above (Figs 2 and 3). T h u s on larger areas th e cropland production is th e main fa c to r of th e level. T h e m icroregions shown in F ig. 1 (except for som e im p o rta n t tow ns) will h o w e v er fall ou t from Figs 2 an d 3. Therefore th e high level of production in th ese m icroregions rests on th e intensive bran ch es of ag ric u ltu re : g ra p ev in e, garden- a n d orch ard cultures. The high levels are still m ore sharply d istin g u ish ed an d a t th e sam e tim e restricted to sm aller areas, if th e ap p ro x im a te u n ac cu m u lated p roduction value is m apped (F ig. 4). W hen calculations w ere m ade w ith accu m u lated value, actually a tw ice-involved fo dder value w as deducted from th e accum ulated value.

T h rough th is th e areas w here— expressed in fo rin t—fodders of relatively h ig h value are fed, fall to a lo w er esteem . On th e o th e r h an d , the areas show ing a high level also w ith th e m ethod of u n ac cu m u lated value coincide w ith th e regions w here a m ore econom ical feeding takes place in th e stock farm ing. The tw o m ain sto ck b reed in g regions, th e cattle-b reed in g w estern H u n g ary and th e p ig -a n d p o u ltry -b re ed in g so u th -eastern G re a t Plain belong also to these. T he re la tiv ity of th is p ro fita b ility should be em phasized. I t is k n o w n well a n d h as already been pointed o u t as a m ost serious stru ctu ra l problem of th e agricu ltu re in H u n g a ry th a t the yield o f stockbreeding, which is about 50°/0 o f the unaccumulated production value, is very low, when broken do w n to u n it areas. The re la tiv e ly extensive fodder grow ing, chiefly th e

Fi g. 2. Plant production value per cad. yoke arable land, 1960

1 = below 2000 F t; ‘2 = 2001—2500; 3 = 2501—2900; 4 = 2901—3300; 5 = 3301—3500; 6 = 3501 — 3700;

7 = 3701—4000; 8 = ab o v e 4000 F t

Fi g. Í. Accumulated gross production value per cad. yoke of agricultural land, 1960

1 = below 3200 F t; 2 = 3201—3500; 3 = 3501 — 4000; 4 = 4001 — 4800; 5 = 4801—5000; 6 = 5001—5500;

7 = 5501—5900; 8 = 5901—6300; 9 = 6301 — 7000; 10 = a b o v e 7000 F t

Fi g. 3. Accumulated stockbreeding value per cad. yoke cropland fodder area, 19G0

l = below 2500 F t ; 2 = 2501—3000; 3 = 3001—3500; 4 = 3501 — 4000; 5 = 40 0 1 —4300; 6 = 4301—4500;

7 = 4501—5000; 8 = 5001—5500; 9 = 5 5 0 1 —0000; 10 = a b o v e 0000 F t

Fi g. 4. Unaccumulated gross production value per cad. yoke agricultural land, 1960

1 = below 2500 F t ; 2 = 2500—2800; 3 = 2801—3200; 4 = 3201—3700; 5 = 3701—4000; 6 = 4001 — 4500;

7 = 4501—5000; 8 = 5001—6000; 9 = a b o v e 6000 F t

grassland an d p astu re farm ing being still a t the ‘level of A rp á d ’s ag e’ is decisively responsible for this.

F or all th a t, th e accu m u lated sto ck b reed in g value av erag in g 4150 F t per u nits of cropland fodder area is higher th a n the crop v alu e per cad. yoke of arables. As regards th e areal p ro p o rtio n s, however, th is natio n al average shows a ra th e r uneven d istrib u tio n . T h ere are districts, e.g. in the L ittle Plain and in th e Mezőföld, w here cropping is m ore profitable, w hile the tw o values are alm ost equal in th e o u te r p a rt of Som ogy and in th e D an u b e—Tisza Midregion.

If, how ever, the m a rk e tin g expressed in average value of stockbreeding per cad. yoke fodder area is related to th e unaccu m u lated value p er cad.

yoke of o th e r ag ricu ltu ral areas, th e n stockbreeding will be ra te d w ith a lower degree of land u tilizatio n . Viewed on national scale, th e value (in F ts) per cad. yoke reaches oidy 8 0 % of th e value per cad. yoke fodder area.

C onsiderable regional divergences are show n also in this resp ect, as th e lan d u tilizatio n b y stockbreeding, re la ted to to ta l production, varies betw een 5 0 % an d 120% . In th e la st analysis, how ever, the 80 % av e rag e index denotes th a t the production value per cad. yoke agricultural area is not raised but decreased by stockbreeding. The degree of lan d utilization b y stockbreeding, re la ted to to ta l ag ric u ltu ral area is show n in Fig. 4. A reas considerably exceeding n atio n al average are th e w ell-developed p o ultry-breeding ty p es on the south-eastern G reat P lain, th e c a ttle region in W estern H un g ary , fu rth e r th e N yírség and the m icroregion of Cegléd in the D an u b e— Tisza M idregion.

The last-m entioned tw o areas are w o rth y of special a tte n tio n here, as in ad d itio n to th eir large-scale p otato-, fru it- and v ine-production, th e y also excel b y stockbreeding, th e results of w hich are o u tsta n d in g even if related to to ta l production. As also by a n u m b e r of o ther indexes, th e m ost intensive ag ric u ltu ral areas of H u n g a ry are re p re se n te d by these s a n d y soils.

As regards u n accu m u lated p roduction value and land u tiliza tio n by stock- breeding, W estern H u n g a ry (Counties Vas and Zala), th e d istricts situ a te d south of th e Lake B alato n (E x terio r of Somogy), th e so u th ea ste rn G reat Plain (C ounty Békés), th e Nyírség a n d the m icroregion of Cegléd in th e D an u b e—Tisza Midregion (Cegléd, N agykőrös, D istrict of Cegléd), fu rth e r the vegetable b elt of th e C apital an d th e w ine-district of th e D anube—Tisza M idregion can be qualified as regions of rem arkably high ag ricu ltu ral level.

The tra d itio n a l wine regions of th e m o u n tain o u s areas are b u t sm all p atches, which in d istrict investigations are n o t prom inent.

(c) T here are tw o m ain indexes of intensification in th e s tru c tu ra l sense:

th e p a rtic ip a tio n of th e intensive b ra n c h e s in the value of to ta l p roduction (Fig. 5) an d th e value p e r cad. yoke of th e intensive b ra n ch es, expressed in forint (Fig. 6). The n a tio n a l average of th e former am o u n ts to 6 6 % , and th a t of th e la tte r 3100 F t per cad. y o k e. The m ap show ing th e value p a r­

ticip atio n of th e intensive branches is from m any points of view th e ‘n e g a tiv e ’ of th e m ap illu stra tin g th e value level of to ta l production. This m eans th a t th e intensive branches som etim es can a tta in stru ctu ra lly a higher p a rtic ip a ­ tio n w here anyw ay th e level of p ro d u c tio n is low, chiefly on areas having unfav o u rab le physical conditions for cereals and tra d itio n a l fodders. B ut w here th ese intensive branches them selves attain a high production level,

2 4

Fi g. 5. Participation of the intensive cropland branches in the accumulated gross production value, 1960

1 = below 5 % ; 2 = 5.1 — 10; 3 = 10.1 — 13; 4 = 13.1 — 17: 5 = 1 7 . 1 —20; 6 = 20 .1 —23; 7 = 23.1—25;

8 = above 25%

Fi g. 6. Value per cad. yoke agricultural land utilized by intensive branches, 1960

1 = below 2000 F t ; 2 = 2001—2300; 3 = 2301—2600; 4 = 2601—2800; 5 = 2801— 3350; 6 = 3351—3900;

7 = 3901—4300; 8 = 4301—5000; 9 = a b o v e 5000 F t

th e y will raise th e p roduction of th e w hole area above th e n a tio n a l average.

This also indicates t h a t a high level in gen eral is m ain tain ed b y production w ith intensive branches. Only 4 0 % of th e adm inistrative u n its fall in to th e category in which th e intensive bran ch es w ith more th a n 6 6 % value p a r ­ ticip atio n coincide w ith yield higher th a n 3100 F t per cad. yoke. W ith m esoregion m ag n itu d e th ere are only tw o such areas in H u n g a ry : th e vine- fruit-vegetable grow ing C ounty Pest and th e apple-potato-tobacco producing N yírség. In b o th regions a decisive role is played by th e politico-econom ic- historical factors com ing into effect a g a in s t the u n favourable physical and soil conditions. O u tstan d in g m icroregions a re th e vine-fruit producing areas, w ith th e exception of w estern T ra n sd a n u b ia and the so u th -ea ste rn G re at P lain.

Half of th e ad m in istra tiv e units s ta n d in g a t a fairly high level of in te n ­ sification as regards b o th production an d s tru c tu re are re p resen te d , how ever, b y tow ns w ith narrow boundaries, th u s in th e final issue b a re ly a q u a rte r of th e to ta l ag ricu ltu ral area falls into th is category. At th e sam e tim e it can be established th a t th e areas which ac co rd in g to the dual criterion m ay be ra te d as intensive h av e developed p re v a le n tly in the line of intensive cro p ­ ping. S tockbreeding presents th e m ain directio n on th e la rg e r p roportion of areas where a com p arativ ely high level has been attain ed b y in ten siv e p ro d u c ­ tion while th e areas w here intensive te n d e n c y prevails also in th e s tru c tu re are m ainly plant-grow ing ones. The a d m in istra tiv e u n its reaching highest (above 6000 F t per cad. yoke) levels h a v e developed a lre a d y th e intensive cropping as m ain direction alm ost w ith o u t exception, a t th e sam e tim e som e of th e intensive b ra n ch es—vine, fru it, p o ta to , onion, red p a p rik a , or p o u ltry am ong th e stockbreeding b ranches—fe a tu re special m icroregions of n a tio n a l im portance.

(d) A few fu rth e r problem s regarding th e m ain directions of th e cropping an d stockbreeding should be sim ilarly raised . On basis of calculations t h a t ca n n o t be specified here (Simon 19Ó4) a u n it area is considered to h av e cropping as m ain direction when m inim um 3 2 % of the u n ac cu m u lated value is supplied b y th e intensive plant-grow ing branches, while a u n it area is of intensive ch a rac te r if th e value supp lied b y the intensive plant-grow ing branches exceeds 1300 F t per cad. y o k e of agricultural area. These areal units having p lan t grow ing as m ain d irectio n are located in co n centrations w ith region or m esoregion m ag n itu d e: (1) th e Danube— T isza M idregion, continuing n o rth w a rd to th e Ipoly riv e r a n d widening in a cup-like form u n til T ata and Eger, furth erm o re th e w ine-regions joining i t directly in th e n o rth e a s t; (2) E ast-Zala w ith th e B a la to n wine-region an d (3) th e Nyírség.

An areal u n it is considered as h av in g stockbreeding as m ain direction if th e v alu e of stockbreeding exceeds 4 8 % of unaccu m u lated v alu e. On basis of calculations th a t ca n n o t be specified here e ith e r, the criterion h a d to be fixed hig h er th a n in th e case of intensive p la n t growing as m ain direction, since area u tilization b y stock farm ing is— as has been ex p o u n d e d —of s u b ­ sta n tia lly lower efficiency th a n it is b y th e intensive plant-grow ing branches.

S ubsequently, an area w ith stockb reed in g as main directio n is considered as having intensive ch a racter, if (1) th e v a lu e of stockbreeding p er cad. yo k e of agriculturally c u ltiv ated area is m in im u m 2100 F t, an d if (2) th e a c ­

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cum ulated v alu e of stockbrecdiug ca lc u lated for the to ta l fodder-grow ing area is a t th e w o rst 1 0 % lower th a n th e u n ac cu m u lated v alu e of total p ro d u c ­ tion, com p u ted a t th e sam e place for th e ag ricu ltu ral area. According to th e criterion of a m inim um 1 8 % p a rtic ip a tio n of stockbreeding value, I he la rg e r proportion of th e c o u n try ’s te rrito ry has stockbreeding as main direction.

Of this, how ever, only Western H ungary (the L ittle P lain west of G yőr, Counties Vas an d Zala, an d th e n o rth -w estern foreland of the B akony), I lie so u th -eastern G re at P lain (Counties B ékés an d E a s t Csongrád, and areas in G reat C um ania including th e tow ns th ere), th e w estern half of the N yírség, the Szamos region an d a n o th e r few s c a tte re d m icroregions comply w ith th e criterion of in ten siv e ch a rac te r. The areas corresponding to th e dual criterio n in W estern H u n g a ry are c a ttle breeding ones, th e m ain direction of th e o th e r areas being of a m ixed ch aracter, m o stly w ith pig and p o u ltry as main d ire c ­ tion. In th e b est developed areas th e ra te of p ro d u c tiv ity which is necessary to reach th e criterio n rests on poultry raisin g, Counties Vas and Zala an d th e Szamos region being th e only exceptions w ith c a ttle breeding.

In final an aly sis, ro u n d 24 per cent of all a d m in istra tiv e units in H u n g a ry have intensive stockbreeding as m ain directio n , while in 2 0 % intensive p lant growing re p resen ts th e m ain direction. E xpressed in cad. yokes, how ever, p lan t grow ers h av e a higher p a rtic ip a tio n th a n this a n d form contiguous regions in general. T hus, in the a g ric u ltu re of H u n g a ry intensive plan t growing is a c tu a lly a m ore im p o rta n t region-form ing fa c to r th a n is th e stock- breeding w hich regarding its p a rtic ip a tio n in v alu e represents a la rg e r quotient. C onsidering th e prospect of hig h er values o btainable per areal units in view of a ra p id progress w ith th e least possible investm ent, as well as th e export-possibilities unfolding w ith in the CMEA, we m ay conclude th a t p lan t grow ing is and will be th e m ain facto r in developing an intensive agriculture in H u n g ary . P la n t grow ing will ensure such an efficiency w hich in tim e m ay ease th e grave problem s of th e stockbreeding, too.

(e) In th e afore-going th e problem has been exam ined according to produc­

tion values calcu lated from various s ta rtin g points. Now the main areal problem s of th e live-labour in p u t shall be raised in brief. In previous stu d ies (Simon 1964) efforts were m ade to ap p ro ach th e problem from several aspects.

O m itting th e details, here only th e final result will be show n, nam ely to what per cent agricultural manpower is utilized per unit area related to national average (Fig. 7). The m ost im p o rta n t lesson o b tain ab le from the m ap is th a t m anpow er is best exploited in th e m ost extensively c u ltiv a te d areas, t h a t is, on th e C en tral G reat P lain an d on th e Mezőföld. On th e other han d , th e relatively h ig h est degree of m echanization has been a tta in e d precisely by the ch a rac te r-d e te rm in in g branches of th ese areas (breadgrain- and m aize growing). A h ig h er degree of m anpow er ex ploitation coincides with a h ig h er level of in ten sificatio n in m esoregion m a g n itu d e only on th e S and-R idge in th e D an u b e— Tisza M idregion, an d in som e—m ainly vine-growing—m icro ­ regions. The N yírség, m ost intensive from all points of view, is one of th e m esoregions explo itin g th e ag ric u ltu ral m anpow er in th e least degree, b a re ly in 8 0 % on th e average. In ten siv e p ro d u c tio n has th ere fo re still enorm ous m anpow er reserves a t its disposal. It w ould be, how ever, a twice grave e rro r

—as was stressed in th e in tro d u c tio n — to draw conclusion herefrom th a t th e

of th e ag ric u ltu ral p ro d u c tio n expressed in value assum ed th e form of m a rk e t goods. A ccording to th e calculations, th e interregional exchange of products is of a still sm aller e n tity , h ard ly 8 % of th e to ta l b o u g h t-u p volum e and b arely 5 to 6 % expressed in value. The basic index of th e areal division of lab o u r is I he interreg io n al exchange of th e m ark etab le products. So th e areal division of lab o u r in H u n g arian ag ric u ltu re, and consequently also th e areal specialization, is still a t a very low level. The m ain direction of production is well ch a rac te rizab le b y th e m inim um 20°/0 p a rtic ip a tio n in the accu m u lated production value. T his lim it in tro d u ced by E rdei, Csete and M árton, and being a lre a d y widely in use, proved to be in m ost cases suitable for th e expression of th e a c tu a l areal specialization. The d a ta registered thus, how ever, are in d icativ e of a v e ry low level of areal division of labour, indeed, of an agriculture producing com m odities on sm all scale for m ark et and for self- sufficiency.

Of th e correlations betw een b u y in g -u p and intensive production th e m ost su b sta n tia l ones m ay be pointed ou t as follows:

(1) On areas of high production lev el— and the bulk of the natio n al p u r­

chases is furnished b y these—85 to 95 p er cent of th e bought-up p ro d u cts issues from th e in ten siv e production b ra n ch es, also w hen th eir v alu e-stru ctu ral p artic ip a tio n rem ains below national average and is perhaps only 50 to 60 per cent.

(2) T here is a d irec t ratio in th e correlation betw een th e F t value per cad.

yoke originating from sta te purchases from th e in ten siv e branches a n d the intensification indexes, p artic u la rly th e production level of th e intensive branches.

(3) The ra tio is inverse betw een the stru c tu ra l indexes of intensification on th e one h a n d an d th e percentage, on th e o th er, in which the p ro d u cts purchased b y s ta te organs from th e intensive bran ch es p articipate in th e value of intensive produ ctio n . This m eans th a t even if large qu an tities are b ought u p b y s ta te organs from th e in ten siv e branches, th ere still rem ains a considerable co n tin g e n t—m aiidy of vegetables, p o ta to , fru its and p o u ltry — chiefly in th e region of th e C apital, t h a t is tra n s a c te d to the consum ers, p otatoes also for feeding, thro u g h purchases o th er th a n b y state organs.

(The areal d istrib u tio n of th e b u y in g -u p by sta te organs, according to th e sta tistic a l d a ta of I9 6 0 , gives th e p ic tu re as re p resen ted in Fig. 8.)

(g) The questions of areal specialization h ave been thoroughly dealt w ith b y E rdei, Csete and M árton (1959) a n d b y B ern át an d E nyedi (1961). The com m on m eth o d of ty p e - and group form ing considers th e particip atio n in th e ac cu m u lated gross-production v alue. E rdei a n d collaborators m ainly endeavoured to estab lish th e directions of specialization, while E nyedi and his associates aim ed a t delim iting th e regions. This la t t e r was the m ain p o in t also of a u th o r’s in v estig atio n , in w hich sim ilarly th e v alu e stru ctu re has been tak en as a basis. As how ever our efforts are directed to detect th e regions of intensive production, som e com binative an d correcting m odifications were carried o u t on th e sim ple scheme of th e prod u ctio n -v alu e structure. J o in tly w ith th e accum ulated value, th e s tru c tu re of th e unaccu m u lated value and th e purchases were ta k e n into consideration, fu rth e r also the fact th a t th e ratio of p artic ip a tio n ca n n o t always be ta k e n for an a d e q u a te index of g ro u p ­