title=History

History of extension and the enabling environment

After the First World War, the agricultural land in Czechoslovakia (including the area that became independent Czech Republic in 1993) was divided among peasants and economically better-off farmers. After the Second World War, during the Soviet era starting 1948, the forceful land holding policy was one of the elimination of individual, private land ownership in favor of collectivization of land, mostly in the form of heavily subsidized agricultural cooperatives and large state farms.

Prior to 1990, no formal agricultural extension or advisory services existed in the Czech Republic. Professional agricultural activities were carried out by the specialists based at state farms and agricultural cooperatives. The transfer of information and exchange of experiences took place only during district and regional consultation meetings of agronomists, zoo-technicians, etc.  In 1990, government subsidies to the agricultural sector were stopped, creating a financial chaos, resulting in the collapse of a large number of agricultural cooperatives.

The formation of farm advisory services (FAS) was started between 1990 and 1992, keeping legislative and transformation issues in sight. The subsidies granted by the Ministry of Agriculture to the advisory services sector in 1992 served the following purposes:

1. Helped establish farm advisory services, which did not exist until that time, and supported the activities of specialized advisers.
2. Contributed to the utilization of advisers’ services by the farmers.
3. Assisted in solving an entire spectrum of professional problems related to obsolete technical equipment, plant and animal production, marketing, and in orienting farmer entrepreneurs to the new conditions of the European agricultural space.

In line with the EU requirements, the government designated the Institute of Agricultural and Food Information (IAFI-UZPI) as the focal institution, with delegated authority for approval and inspection of advisory service matters. The IAFI was to carry out these responsibilities in cooperation with the Forest Management Institute (FMI-UHUL), with the latter institution to also perform additional functions of maintaining the Register of Consultants kept within the Registry of Advisers at the Ministry of Agriculture, and handling certification and accreditation matters.

Insufficient business and professional skills of new farm owners who started farming after 1990, coupled with new market conditions, resulted in rapid bankruptcies of a significant number of farmer entrepreneurs. The farm advisory programs DIGIT I and DIGIT II (1997-1998), therefore, were exclusively directed toward assessment of business purpose of economically weak enterprises, and toward recommendations for a change in the intended direction of economic activities or for the termination thereof. Although this particular approach was not extensive as judged from limited number of projects processed yet it was very effective in terms of individual beneficiaries as well as from methodological point of view.

Based on the experience gained thus far, the Ministry of Agriculture prepared in 1999 a revised concept of farm advisory services, which was to be used as an instrument of system-based consultative activities for regulating the provision of support from public resources on the basis of sector-based advisory programs. At the same time, the concept also emphasized the need for the dissemination of information and advisory services of non-commercial nature. It gave an impulse to start the advisory services in public interest, provided by the staff of commodity research institutes.       

In 2000, a new concept of farm advisory services was adopted in the Czech Republic on the basis of the following three pillars:

1. Consulting within public interest (100 per cent cost covered by the government).
2. Production-technology consulting (70 per cent cost covered by the government).
3. Consulting for pre-accession to the EU programs (100 per cent borne by clients who request consulting services).

The provision of farm advisory services through advisory groups was welcomed by the farmers who wanted to solve production problems. Each advisory group was required to present a project containing specific targets to be achieved within certain timeframe, and the payment was to be made to the advisory group according to the extent to which those targets were achieved. This arrangement, which was successfully operated till 2002, was not only widely accepted by the farmers but it also received appreciation in evaluation studies undertaken by the EU.

When the Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004, the above mentioned farm support services pattern was abandoned. For the 2004-2010 period, the government took the following actions towards adopting a revised advisory system:

1. The requirements related to the preparation of advisers and their professional competence were established by the Accreditation Directive of the Ministry of Agriculture.
2. A National Council of Advisory Services for Agriculture and Rural Development was established comprising relevant units of the Ministry including the Agricultural Agency of the Ministry, Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI-UZEI), agrarian non-profit NGOs, research institutes and universities.
3. Regional Information Centers were established to ensure the flow of relevant information to and from the end users.
4. The advisory program was directed to support the legal requirements in the areas of water protection, animal welfare, transitional farming, organic farming methods and farming optimization.

After the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU, farmers’ interest in the advisory services grew rapidly. The number of applicants requesting services increased from 529 in 2004 to 1,162 in 2005 and to 1,304 in 2006.  In 2005, an analysis of advisory services revealed several shortcomings in the advisory support that was being given to commercial farming, water protection, cattle and pig breeding, and poultry breeding.

In 2006, national subsidies were discontinued and, since 2007, advisory services have been included in Rural Development Program (RDP). The support of advisory services was linked to the full compliance with the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Council/Commission of the EU Regulations regarding the direction and scope of advisory services in the agricultural sector. For example, in 2008, a directive was issued for amending the accreditation process covering the qualification of advisers including their material and technical equipment, filing in the Register, and the area of inspection activities.

Starting 2007, a comprehensive advisory system was established in order to cover the following:

1. Adherence to the regulated requirements in the areas of management, good agriculture and environmental conditions.
2. Provision of farm advisory services by one or more designated public authorities or private bodies.
3. Voluntary integration of farmers into the system, with preference for the farmers who received more than €15,000 of direct payments every year.
4. Protection of the data gathered during advisory activities.

The concept of the farm advisory system for the period 2009-2013 was determined on the basis of directly applicable regulations of the EU and in accordance with the Czech Government Program Declaration. It was directed towards farming, forestry, fisheries, water management and rural development. Far-ranging problems of rural development formed contents of the consultation and information activities of the service providers, included in the National Rural Network. The staff of NGOs was offered systematic education in the subjects of their operations, and also access to the software and database of the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI-UZEI). Introductory consultations provided by NGOs in the areas of agriculture, forestry and fisheries were supported through national subsidies while the introductory consultations on rural development were supported from the National Rural Network. Under the system, advisory services were provided at the following four levels:

• Level-1: Introduction/Orientation Consultations:
Free-of-charge for users; time-limited general information provided on issues raised by users such as information on supporting programs, terms required; alternately, users could direct their questions to further professional consultations or individual advisory services; fields of service include farming, forestry, fisheries, water management, and rural development. The service providers include:
• Agricultural Agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture (AAs): set up Regional and District Networks as part of the National Rural Network; serve as work centers for farmers, agricultural bodies and enterprises for advice or assistance; services include provision of information on all government support grant programs; filling out of forms and check lists; advisory service to land users in the area of Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) and its various registers including Farmers’ Portal; organization of seminars; and education of farmers.
• Agrarian non-profit NGOs: only those NGOs included that have the statue of Regional Information Centers for Agricultural and Rural Development; provide information and consultations on getting government aid, observing the conditions of good production practices especially related to cross-compliance, agriculture environmental programs; provide feedback to the Ministry on consultation needs of target groups and on the advisory services and products delivered.
• Water Management Section of the Ministry of Agriculture: for consultations on water management.
• Level-2: Professional Consultations: Free-of-charge for users; time-limited consultations through telephone, electronic or personal contacts; also include research findings for the knowledge of advisers, lecturers, consultants, teachers of secondary and vocational schools, and some public administration employees; also include special advisory services for animal and plant production; technical areas covered include agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and water management; professional consultations to be supported by national allocations. The service providers include:
  • Agricultural research institutes.
  • Public universities.
  • University-level schools.
  • Designated professional association NGOs to serve where research institute in the needed specialization does not exist.
  • Professional Units of the Ministry of Agriculture in the fields of water management and fisheries.
  • Commodities Section of the Ministry of Agriculture that guarantees the availability of special advisory services for animal and plant production through established breeders, grower associations or other authorized persons.
  • Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information that provides consultations through Infopult Service.
• Level-3: Individual Advisory services: Advisory services with financial participation of clients, provided by accredited advisers; used in cases where a commercial organization needs to solve professional problems related to, for example, principles of the Common Agricultural Policy, cross-compliance and good agricultural practices; usually in-depth, comprehensive consultations; and cover areas of farming and forestry. The individual advisory services are supported through the Rural Development Program. Financial aid for advisory services provided to forest owners and lessees in the areas of applicable legislation and economical forest management methods.
  The service providers are legally qualified and accredited private advisers who have included technical consultation in the particular discipline in their list of services, and are registered in the Ministry of Agriculture’s Registry of Advisers. Advisers’ technical expertise is guaranteed by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information.
• Level-4: Advisory services through specialized web portals: Advisory services provided in the areas of water management, forestry, fisheries, and rural development; portal of the National Rural Networks contains advisory information; several websites offering specialized information, methods, forms and recommendations; web portals inter-connected; extent of the use of website services depends on computer literacy of users, level of convenience in accessing the websites, and willingness to pay for the needed information; also exists a Farmers’ Portal for the public use; programs financed through establishment and operation of the National Rural Network within the framework of the Rural development Program.

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title=Extension Providers

Major institutions providing extension/advisory services

Public Institutions

Ministry of Agriculture 
The Ministry of Agriculture does not provide extension and advisory services per se to the farmers, but it does have overall responsibility for the advisory services. It makes policy decisions, and provides varying degrees of financial support to various public and non-public advisory service providers within the framework of the national Rural Development Program either from national coffers and/or from the EU funds. The Ministry also ensures the quality of advisers in terms of qualifications, experience and technical specializations, and maintains a Registry of Advisers. Main public institutions/bodies affiliated with the Ministry that are engaged in operating the advisory system are as follows:

National Advisory Council for Agriculture and Rural Development
The Council is an advisory body to the Deputy Minister to look after, among other responsibilities, the advisory services sector. The Council comprises representatives from the Units of the Ministry of Agricultural including the Ministry’s Agricultural Agencies that formulate the requirements related to the advisory system and the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information.

Since 2009, the Council has mainly focused on the first and second levels of the advisory services, i.e. introductory and professional consultations. The Council assesses the feedback received and makes recommendations on improving the advisory services.

Department of Advisory Services
This department of the Ministry is responsible for the following:

• To create conditions for the provision of advisory services.
• To promote collaboration between individual professional units of the Ministry of agriculture and the program operations managed by these units.
• To cooperate with the Department of Rural Development in the granting of advisory service-related aid within the framework of the National Rural Network.
• To cooperate with the Rural Development Program Managing Authority in designing European advisory and education programs.
• To cooperate with the Commodity Units in the area of advisory services.

The Institute of Agricultural and Food Information (IAFI-UZPI)
IAFI serves as the national focal institution within the context of the EU requirements for advisory services. By virtue of the authority delegated by the Ministry of Agriculture, the IAFI approves and inspects advisory service matters.

The Forest Management Institute (FMI-UHUL)
This institute cooperates with the IAFI, and also performs additional functions of maintaining the Register of Consultants kept within the Registry of Advisers at the Ministry of Agriculture, and handling of certification and accreditation matters.

The Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information (IAEI)
This institute performs the following activities related to the advisory services:

• Maintains the Ministry of Agriculture Registry of Advisers.
• Ensures the accreditation preparation of advisers.
• Inspects the advisory services supported under the Rural Development Program.
• When necessary, organizes educational sessions for lecturers and consultants of the Ministry’s advisory system.
• methodology-related materials for the individual level of the advisory system.
• Coordinates professional activities of scientific and research institutions with regard to their contribution to the advisory system.

Agricultural research institutions
The government policy on agricultural extension and advisory services encourages agricultural research institutions to participate in the advisory system, as they have been included in the National Rural Network. Research institutes’ contribution to the advisory services comes in the forms of technology generation, technology transfer, and participation in technical meetings of agricultural specialists, representation in policy level bodies like the National Advisory Council for Agriculture and Rural Development, and occasional consultations with producer groups. Agricultural research in the Czech Republic is organized under the authority of two ministries, namely Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, with the latter managing the entire process of science and technology in the country. Main research institutions, whose websites are in the national language, are as follows:

• The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR): In essence, it is the national agricultural research system (NARS) of the Czech Republic.
• Technology Centrum of Academy of Science of the Czech Republic: Acts as national information center for EU research.
• Science and Development Council: Chaired by the Prime Minister; formulates overall philosophy and strategy of science and technology, and monitors results.
• Grant Agency of the Czech Republic.
• National Agency for Agriculture Research.
• Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences: Acts as the scientific advisory body to the Minister of Agriculture; participates in international scientific cooperation; evaluates and popularizes agricultural science and its results; supervises the scientific content of scientific journals.
• Institute of Agricultural Economics and Information.
• Other research institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture: Separate research institutes exist for conducting research on agricultural economics; forestry and game management;  soil and water conservation; crop production; animal science; veterinary; food; and agricultural engineering.
• Research institute under the Ministry of Environment: Silva Tarouca Research Institute for Landscape and Ornamental Gardening.
• Private research institutes: Bee Research Institute, Ltd.; AGRITEC Research, Breeding and Services, Ltd.; Research Institute for Fodder Plants, Ltd.; OSEVA PRO Ltd. Grassland Research Station Roznov-Zubri; OSEVA PRO Ltd.; Research Institute of Oilseed Crops at Opaval; Potato Research Institute Havlickuv Brod, Ltd.; Research and Breeding Institute of Pomology Holovousy, Ltd.; Hop Research Institute, Ltd.; Sugar Beet Institute, Ltd.; Research Institute for Cattle Breeding, Ltd.; MILCOM, PLC.; Research Institute of Brewing and Malting, PLC.
• Universities involved in agricultural and rural social sciences research include: Czech University of Agriculture, Prague; Mendel University of Agriculture and Forestry, Brno; University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice.

Universities
Just like research institutions, universities have also been included in the National Rural Network. Examples of a few universities with faculties in various agricultural disciplines in the Czech Republic are as follows:

• Czech University of Life Sciences: located in Prague; founded in 1906; essentially an institution of higher learning in agricultural sciences; has faculties of agrobiology, food and natural resources, tropical agricultural sciences, environmental science, and forestry and wood sciences.
• Mendel University: located in Brno; founded in 1919; formerly called University of Agriculture in Brno; has a large number of faculties and departments in the subjects of agriculture, forestry, livestock, and horticulture.
• University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
• Jan Amos Komensky University: Located in Prague; offers degree program in adult education.

Non-Public Institutions

Private sector
There is no information readily available suggesting that private, commercial agricultural companies are playing any significant role in the advisory system of the Czech Republic. In view of the facts that the agricultural sector has been economically declining, a large geographical area of the country is unsuitable for agriculture, and certain issues like the land fragmentation and land ownership rights are still to be resolved, it may be assumed that the private sector has been discouraged from venturing in agriculture. However, the private sector is most active in the area of agricultural research, as mentioned in the previous section.

Operations of some Czech companies such as FARMTECH, A.S. (production and servicing of farm machinery; consulting services in agriculture), and Kline & Company (marketing intelligence; value chains of industries) are related to agriculture. But such companies’ operations are more international and broader in scope than concentrating on advising the Czech farmers.   

Non-governmental organizations
NGOs are now included in the National Rural Network and, as such, are involved in advisory system of the Czech Republic. It is said that most of the NGOs represent the interests of commercial agriculturists, but no specific examples are readily available. The country has a permanent consultative, initiative and coordination body of the government, called the Governmental Council for Non-Governmental Non-Profit Organizations, established in 1992.

The Czech Republic has allocated €9.8 million to the NGO program for the period 2009-14. In 2012, the number of NGOs in the country was 115,000, out of which 73,000 were registered as civic associations. However, only 10 per cent of these NGOs were fully active. Although the government is keen to involve in the advisory system, no information was found as yet on any NGO showing the advisory service as its mandate. A few examples of NGOs in the Czech Republic are given below:

• People in Need (PIN) www.peopleinneed.cz/ : A national NGO, and one of the largest in the region was founded in 1992; based in Prague, mostly engaged in human rights, human relief, development assistance, and social integration projects in a large number of countries including the Czech Republic.
• Czech Forum for Development Cooperation.   
• Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation.
• Young Agrarian Society.
• Association of Organic Farming Counsellors (EPOS): A civic association of well qualified and trained organic farming counselors, research associates and trainers; primary activities include training, education, counseling and research; publishes and distributes counseling literature.
• Breeders’ Association of Czech Red-Pied Cattle: Based in Prague.
• Pig Breeders’ Association of the Czech Republic.
• Czech Fish Farms’ Association.
• Association of Private Farming (APF): Established in 1999; defends economic, social and professional interests of individual farmers both at home and abroad; had 3,100 members in 2005; operates a project called “Czech Farm” that aims at lowering input prices for farmers; provides information to members through a bi-monthly bulletin as well as on the website www.asz.cz.
• Deer Farmers’ Association: Founded in 1983.
• Agricultural Association: Formed in 2001 as successor to the Association of Cooperative Farming; comprises about 1,000 members, half of which are cooperatives; provides price information to members on daily basis mostly through the Internet, advisory activities, and facilitates contracts between producers and suppliers.
• PRO-BIO Association of Organic Farmers: Members include organic farmers, processors and vendors; cooperates with leading European organic farming associations; offers an information service, counseling, loans, seminars, advertisement and help with cattle.
• Agricultural research institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Environment, or those private institutes that conduct research on specific agricultural commodities, mentioned in a previous section.
• Relevant faculties located in various agricultural universities, identified earlier.
• Association of Organic Farming Counsellors (EPOS).
• Rural Development Program, and
• In a European Union member country if it offers the needed training and necessary funds are available.

Some foreign NGOs like Milieukontakt International (from the Netherlands) are also active in the Czech Republic.

Farmers-based associations, cooperatives and societies
As the government has included farmers in the National Rural Network, farmers’ associations will be playing more active role in seeking the state aid opportunities and consulting support at all levels. Here are a few examples of farmers-based associations in the country:

Regarding agricultural cooperatives, there is a Cooperative Association of the Czech Republic (CACR). According to a 1994 document, there were 1,202 agricultural cooperatives with 350,000 members before the Velvet Revolution of 1989. After the transformation, the number of agricultural cooperatives increased to 1,658 with 380,000 members. According to a 2012 report of a study commissioned by the EU, most important farmers’ cooperatives were covering commodities of cereals, fruit and vegetables, wine, dairy, sheep meat, and pig meat. The activities undertaken by the cooperatives included marketing and processing of farm products, collective bargaining, wholesaling, retailing, and political lobbying. The agricultural production cooperatives are actually farming companies based on assembling capital (no land) of their members and thus function just like joint stock companies. Almost three quarters of the cooperatives handle both crop and animal production activities.

List of Extension Providers

 The following list shows an excerpt from the GFRAS Directory of Extension Providers for the Czech Republic. Some of these entries may be specially marked for having more detailed information in the database of the Worldwide Extension Study WWES.

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title=Training

Training options for extension professionals

Pre-service in agriculture and related disciplines may be pursued at any of the universities mentioned earlier in a previous section. For in-service training extension personnel may contact the following organizations:

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title=ICT

Info-mediaries and information and communication technology (ict) for agriculture and extension

According to the World Bank, in 2012, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) in the Czech Republic was 122.78. During the same year, the number of Internet users (per 100 people) in the country was 75. The Czech ICT sector is considered as among the most advanced in Central Europe, with thousands of employees and promising exports of IT services. The ICT is being used to develop e-government for providing online government services to the citizens. The main five organizations supporting the ICT development in the Czech Republic are: Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK); Association of the Public Telecommunications Network Operators (APVTS); Center for Electronic Commerce (CEO); the Czech Society for Cybernetics and Informatics (CSKI); Association for the Information Society (SPIS); and the Office of Personal Data Protection (UOOU). Banking and national public administration are the most demanding sectors for IT products.

In the agricultural sector, the most visible official portals are MZe (Ministry of Agriculture), SZIF (State Agricultural Intervention Fund), and Portal Farms (Farmers’ Portal). Then, there are specialized information portals like AgroWeb, AGRIS and Agronavigator. The regional portals are the Agrarian Chamber Regional KIS (Regional IC – Regional Information Centers) and APIC-AK (ACIC – Agrarian Consultancy and Information Centers). A lack of high-speed Internet connectivity remains a major hurdle in rapid adoption and application of ICT in the country.

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title=Resources

Resources and references

Bavorova, M., J. Curtiss, and L. Jelinek. 2004. Czech Agricultural Associations and the Impact of Membership on Farm Efficiency. Paper prepared for presentation at the 94th EAAE Seminar, “From Households to Firms with Independent Legal Status: The Spectrum of Institutional Units in the Development of European Agriculture”, held at Ashford, UK; 9-10 April, 2005.

Beckmann, A., J. Carmin, and B. Hicks .2002. Catalysts for Sustainability: NGOs and Regional Development Initiatives in the Czech Republic. In Walter Leal Filho (ed.), International Experiences on Sustainability (Pp. 159-177). Bern: Peter Lang Scientific Publishing.

Belda, K., V. Benes, J. Curin, K. Richta, and F. Zelezny (no date; probably 2000). ICT in the Czech Republic: Institutions, Regulations, Challenges and Applications in Academia, Industry and the Public Sector. Czech Society of Cybernetics and Informatics Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo..

Berglund, M. and T. Dworak. 2009. Integrating Water Issues in Farm Advisory Services: A Handbook of Ideas for Administrators; final draft for EG meeting, Seville 6/7.4.2010.

Europa (no date; probably 2005). Policy Brief: Czech Republic ICT Performance. Available at: ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docconf/…/doc/brief_czech.pdf/.

Jovanic, T. and A.T. Delic. 2013. The European Regulatory Framework for Farm Advisory Services. EP 2013 (60) 4 (801-816).

Karen, O. 1994. The Czech Co-op Movement after its Political and Economic Transformation. International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

Klaver, D. 2006. Strengthening Advisory Services for Small Farmers in the Fruit and Vegetable Sector; Comparative study on extension and transfer of knowledge in pre-accession countries and new member countries (TRANSFER). European Union Access TRANSFER Project Report.

Kralovec, J. (no date; probably 2006). Country Pasture/Forage Resource Profiles: Czech Republic. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Majerova, V. 2000. Four milestones in the social and economic development of Czech agriculture. Czech Sociological Review, VIII (2/2000); Pp. 157-176.

Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic .2008. Rural Development Program of the Czech Republic for 2007-2013; working document. VUZE Prague: Ministry of Agriculture.

Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. 2009.  The Farm Advisory System of the Ministry of Agriculture for the Years 2009-2013. VUZE Prague: Ministry of Agriculture.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. 2013. Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.

Mis, T. (no date; probably 2006). Agricultural Advisory Institutions in European Union Countries. Faculty of Economics, University of Rzeszow. 

Ratinger, T., K. Trdlicova, M. Abrahamova, I. Boskova, I. Souckova, P. Novoty, and H. Baudisova. 2012. Support for Farmers’ Cooperatives; Country Report; the Czech Republic. Wageningen: Wageningen UR

Strnadova, A. (no date; probably 2010). E-Ecofarming (current situation concerning the education within the organic farming sector in the Czech Republic). Available at: www.e-ecofarming.eu .

Turner, M. 2007. Rural Technology Transfer in Transition Economies in Czech Republic; D12-3 Fourth 6-monthly report, prepared under the project, “Agro-economic policy analysis of the new member states, the candidate states and the countries of the Western Balkan” (CEEC Agri Policy).

Vanek, J., J. Jarolimek, and P. Simek. 2009. Information services and ICT development in agriculture of the Czech Republic. Agris on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Volume I, Number 1, 2009; Pp. 47-51.

Yakova, I. 2006. Czech Republic, Europe and its farmers: How is agricultural interest intermediation affected by accession to the EU. European Political Economy Review, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Winter 2005-2006); Pp. 112-142.

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