In ten years, the Czech Republic has lost 3.4% of agricultural land

Prague - In recent years, the area of agricultural land in the Czech Republic has decreased, replaced by building plots or forest land. While in 2000, there were 3.604 million hectares of managed agricultural land, in the following ten years, its area decreased by approximately 121,000 hectares to 3.483 million hectares. This results from the Agrocensus survey, the results of which were published on the website of the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ).
      "In 2010, agricultural land accounted for 44.2 percent of the area of the Czech Republic. Over the last ten years, it has decreased by 1.5 percentage points in favor of built-up and other areas or forest land," highlighted the ČSÚ. Of a total of almost 3.5 million hectares of managed agricultural land, arable land made up 72.2 percent and permanent grasslands accounted for 26.7 percent.
      The area of arable land decreased by 8.2 percent from 2000 to 2010, or 224,504 hectares, to 2.513 million hectares. The area of hop gardens decreased from 6,966 hectares in 2000 to 5,748 hectares in 2010. A significant decline was recorded in vegetable gardens. While they occupied 4,617 hectares in 2000, in 2010 they only occupied 242 hectares. The area of fruit orchards also decreased, from 22,130 hectares in 2000 to 20,499 hectares in 2010.
      In contrast, thanks to subsidies from the European Union, the area of vineyards in the Czech Republic has increased. Their area grew from 10,581 hectares in 2000 to 14,347 hectares in 2010. Some arable land was converted to grassland, which is also covered by European subsidies. The area of permanent grasslands increased from 821,756 hectares to 928,818 hectares over the ten years.
      The Czech Republic has been struggling with massive encroachments on agricultural land for other, most often construction purposes, for several years. Therefore, since last year, after almost 20 years, the state has increased fees for the withdrawal of land from the agricultural land fund. Since then, the withdrawal of the highest quality soils has become several times more expensive. According to the ministry, likely as a result of this legislative change, the rate of land seizures slightly decreased last year to just under 12 hectares per day. However, it is unclear to what extent this decline is due to the current economic downturn and reduced construction activity.

Use of managed agricultural land:

	2000 (ha)	2010 (ha)
Total managed agricultural land	3,604.400	3,483.500
Arable land	2,738.350	2,513.846
Hop gardens	6966	5748
Vineyards	10.581	14.347
Vegetable gardens	4617	242
Fruit orchards	22.130	20.499
Permanent grasslands	821.756	928.818