PREVISIÓN DE INGRESOS 109

The level of income is a further important indicator of the social position of farmers and agricultural workers. Currently, more than 80% of those working in agriculture are waged labour.

ith re- spect to gender in agriculture. Women received 80.4 percent of men's wages in agriculture in 2002, while nationally the average was 6 percentage points less. The severity of the unfavourable development of agricultural wages is well visi- ble in real terms. In 1991, real wages in the national economy dropped to only 70 percent of the 1989 level. Real wages in agriculture sank even lower, to 64 percent. However, other developments were even worse. While the national av- erage wage and the average industrial wage caught up the pre-reform level in real terms in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and even exceeded this level by 30 and 22 percent, respectively, in 2003, the average agricultural real wage re- mained below the pre-reform level (by 17 percent) in 2003 (Figure 11).

Nominal wages have grown for 15 years, but at a different velocity in individual sectors and time periods. Agricultural wages significantly exceeded industrial wages and the national average at the beginning of transition in 1989 and 1990. However, the situation reversed in 1991 and 1992; wages in the other sectors accelerated while agricultural wages stayed behind (on average). The disparity has increased rapidly; agricultural wages fell to 70% of the national average in 2003. The average agricultural annual wage accounted for €4,400 while the av- erage national wage was €6,400 (CZSO 2004). Wages also fell in comparison to other low skill professions. In 2002, the average agricultural wage fell to only 73.3 percent of the average wage in the construction sector. There are significant differences with respect to professions and qualification. Unskilled livestock operators earned only 72.6 percent of the wage of machine fitters in 2002.

Figure 11: Index of real wages in selected sectors (1989 = 100%) 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 110.0 120.0 130.0 140.0 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Without Enterprises of Natural Persons.

2002 2003

%

Agriculture Industry National Economy

Note:

Sources: Statistical Yearbook, Federal Statistical Office 1989; Index of Consumer Prices and .

ities of the head of household exhibited a larger

Cost-of-living, CZSO 1997 - 2002

The total annual income per person in agricultural households7 was 15 percent

below the income per member in households of non-agricultural employees in 2002. Income from work activ

deviation (only 77% of the level in non-agricultural households). This disparity was often slightly moderated by non-agricultural income of the spouse and higher social benefits received (child benefits, pensions, etc., with a 13% share of the total income, compared with 10% in non-agricultural households). The relative importance of income from the head of household holding a second job is equal and negligible (2.6%) (Figure 12).

Figure 12: Household incomes (annual per capita in CZK) 100,000 120,000 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 CZK Employees Farmers

Source: Survey of Gross Incomes of Households in 2002 by social groups (Employees and Farmers), CZSO (2003a).

The net annual income per person in individual farmers’ households is signifi- cantly lower than income in the other social clusters, aside from unemployed households. The most severe (however illustrative) income gap is the very com- parable cluster of individual non-agricultural entrepreneurs (self-employed per- sons). The income level of farmers’ households reached only 65% of the level of the non-agricultural self-employed in 2002 (CzSO 2003a).

Agricultural households contain the highest number of members (3.55 compared to 3.2, on average, in 2002) among the sector clusters; at the same time they ex- hibit the second largest proportion (7.8% in 2002) of households below the pov-

erty level8, aside from the cluster of unemployed households (CzSO 2003a).

Income deviation can also be

Main employment - head of hh. Main employment - wife Main employment - other members Secondary employment Social incomes Sale of agricultural products Other incomes

observed between rural and urban households. The average rural household income per person (in sites with less than 5,000 inhabi- tants) was around 30% below the income level of urban households (in metro- politan sites with more than 100,000 inhabitants) (Figure 13).

Figure 13: Net incomes – annual per capita average (in thousand CZK) 90 100 110 120 130 CZ K 80 70 do 1 1-5 5-10 10-50 50-100 nad 100

size categories of municipalities (in thousand inhabitants)

Social situation of households Source: Microcensus

Source: Social Situation of Households in 2001, CZSO (2003b); Microcensus 2002 (House- holds‘ Income survey), CZSO (2004).

e financial (income/expenditure)

ork unit (AWU) can be regarded as a rele- vant and important indicator of farm income, particularly for family farms. This

porates both determinants of income/labour productivity and gov- sfers. The time series obtained from the Economic Accounts for com

Empirical investigations among rural women (HORSKA et al., 2000) showed that

women from agricultural households perceived th

situation of their households slightly better (less dramatic) than other rural women. However, they more frequently estimated their standard of living as lower in comparison to other rural households. This discrepancy in judgement could be explained by more modest requirements and needs of “agricultural”

women, a different structure of values and lifestyle (HORSKA et al., 2000).

Net value added (NVA) per annual w indicator incor

ernmental tran

Agriculture (EAA) indicate that there is a strong relationship between farm in-

e and aggregated support represented by PSE9 (Figure 14).

Figure 14: Changes in net value added in relation to PSE y = 0.3227x - 6.6538 R2 _{= 0.5228} 30 40 50 -40 00.0 150.0 200.0 N f c 10 20 -10 0 -150.0 -100.0 -50.0 0.0 50.0 1 V A a t -30 -20 -50 PSE

A correlation can also be shown between annual changes in wages and changes by

tura sam

ind ones, and in other years

ual nom ach 50 e na- com ove

Source: Authors’ calculation based on EAA (Report on the State of Czech Agriculture, 1996- 2003).

in Net Value Added per AWU. Actually, 67% of wage changes can be explained changes in return to a labour unit (Figure 15). However, the EEA lacks struc-

l information. In order to obtain this, the FADN sample was examined. The ple exhibited a large variation in income performance: in some years (2003) ividual (family) farms did better than corporate

(2001 and 2002) the opposite occurred. However, within the cluster of individ- farms it was shown that NVA at fc grows with farm size and that this phe-

enon has been quite stable. Farms cultivating more than 300 hectares ieved almost four times higher NVA per labour unit than small farms under hectares in 2001. These small farms performed significantly below th

tional average, while farms already close to 100 hectares generated in- e/return to labour units above the national agricultural average, and farmers r 300 hectares exhibited double income/return to labour units.

Figure 15: Annual changes in wages in relation to net value added at factor costs 12.0 14.0 y = 0.0776x + 8.0778 2.0 R2 _{= 0.6753} N na l w a g e 8.0 10.0 4.0 6.0 o mi 0.0 -60.0 -40.0 -20.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 NVA at fc

So rce: Authors’ calculation based on EAA (Report on the State of Czech Agriculture, 1996- 2003).

u

In al implications of

economic restructuring and the development of the agricultural sector. A review lows.

bec

Ag the

mployees, while the self- hey are quali-

sector has becom com

site nt.

us find it chal- lenging to enhance their chances of obtaining jobs.