In the former socialist countries the primary objective of the privati
zation of agriculture is the establishment of family farms, and to imp
rove their conditions of production. The ideological and political sig
nificance of the family farm is comparable with the large-scale collec
tivization of the previous political period. As a result of the varied
conditions and possibilities, the transfer of previously collectivize
d land and state-run farms shows striking differences between countrie
s. These differences are described in detail. In general, the process
of privatization is slow and has produced an ambiguous legal and econo
mic situation, creating uncertainty for the private farms. The last pa
rt of the paper describes the changes in social structure as a result
of agricultural privatization. Family farms will become stronger, but
not the sole form of agricultural production. Some of the co-operative
s and state farms may continue to exist on the basis of new statutes,
while it is expected that half of agricultural production will be prod
uced by part-time farmers.