Csengeri Piroska - Tóth Arnold (szerk.): A Herman Ottó Múzeum évkönyve 54. (Miskolc, 2015)
Történettudomány - Surányi Béla: A hazai növénytermesztési politika egy évszázada (1896–1989)
A hazai növénytermesztési politika egy évszázada (1896-1989) 443 A CENTURY OF HUNGARY’S CROP PRODUCTION POLICY (1896-1989) Keywords: economic history, agricultural history, agriculture, crop production, statism Agriculture, being a fundamental branch of national economy, remained “independent” of the state for a long time. Many economic views dealt with its role since the middle ages, particularly from the modern period onwards. The acceleration of industrialization, the empowerment of capitalization and the spreading of urbanization reshaped economic life and society. With the establishment of a capitalist world economy starting from the 19th century, economic crises became regular, first hitting agriculture as they mostly stemmed from overproduction. Profitability became a defining factor for the direction of production. Throughout multiple economic crises, the notion that the market’s self-regulating role needs revision became stronger and stronger as it was unable to maintain balance when it came to supply and demand. This became an even more significant matter after the period following the Great War, with empires crumbling and their successor states trying to settle for self-sustenance. This changed the role of the central power, the state in terms of controlling the economy. The Hungarian government’s say in questions related to agriculture was getting more and more traction since the late 19lh century and it got even more profound after 1920. The established management system and civilian professional organizations created an opportunity for directing production. The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture also began to take a larger role not only in controlling, but also in helping with the modernization and implementation of rational, profitable agriculture. Obviously any country’s past heritage became history rather slowly, especially in the case of Hungary. Historical “shocks” made progress difficult, since wartime prosperity only encouraged agriculture ostensibly, which resulted in the government having to take forced measures. After 1945 a new era began in Hungary, vastly different both politically and economically from the previous regime, which brought contrived solutions that would result in other kinds of mistakes. Despite its errors and contradictions, it was agriculture that became one of the defining driving forces of the consolidation period after 1956, making spectacular progress within the political and ideological framework of the time. The government’s role in agricultural and production policies was much greater than before due to it being a singleparty state. Despite its results, the economic reform introduced in 1968 offered an uneven solution since the political system remained unchanged. It became clear that there was no room for innovation, only elimination. This culminated in the change of the regime in 1989; however that only proved to be the first step as Hungary’s agriculture has yet to find its way since, even a quarter-century later. Our overview briefly deals with the crop production policy of this one hundred year period set within an international frame, taking both failures and successes that affected Hungarian agriculture into account, specifically those related to field crop production. [Translated by Csaba Medve] Suránji, Béla
