Agriculture in a transitional crisis period: crop production in the administrative region of Belgrade from 1991 to 2002

Abstract

Serbia's decade of the 1990s was characterised by a long-lasting economic and political crisis. Throughout this period there was a constant decline in agricultural production, throughout Serbia. This downturn was more pronounced in the rural areas around Belgrade [Beograd]. Conventional urbanisation processes played only a supporting role in that development. The key force of the agricultural decline has to be seen in the economic crisis, in conjunction with the agricultural specialisation of this region. Results of this study on crop production (comparing 1991 with 2002 data) show that in the studied area subsistence farming gained significant importance; whereas simultaneously market-oriented production declined significantly. Furthermore, small-scale analyses of this study reveal results of structural changes, apart from the general outcome of rising subsistence. Concentration or specialisation on certain crops in few locations allowed still a high level of market-oriented production, even under these long-lasting crisis conditions.