Problems of agriculture and landscape management as perceived by farmers of the Sumava Mountains (Czech Republic)

The role agriculture plays in our economy is changing. The former preferenc e for production is being replaced by a preference for the production of la ndscape. The landscape: we live in has been created by rural tradition. It is the ki nd of landscape we perceive as pleasant; it is also highly appreciated from the ecological and aesthetic points of view. The problem facing us is how we should preserve the character of the rural landscape, which is closely connected with agricultural activity, under con ditions of decreasing agricultural production. This question is extremely i mportant in marginal areas whose economy is based on agriculture. Declining agricultural production in these areas results not only in social changes but also in changes in the landscape patterns of environmentally valuable a reas. One possible solution to this problem is a policy of landscape management. This has been tried out in the Czech Republic, by implementing new types of subsidies in agricultural policy, to encourage sustainable landscape manag ement. Our article seeks to reveal the shortcomings in the functioning of t hese ecological subsidies in marginal areas. Our qualitative analysis is ba sed on interviews with farmers in Sumava Mountains to ascertain their opini ons and experience with ecological subsidies as a new form of state support . The main reason that the ecological subsidies are failing appears to be b ecause they ignore the social factor: the recipient of the subsidy. Most of the subsidies are awarded to businessmen ('new experts') who have no ties with the landscape or with its values and management. We conclude that the landscape cannot be managed from outside. We need a li ving countryside with farmers - recipients of subsidies and the real creato rs of the landscape. The social situation in the countryside must be taken into account in a broader context. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All right s reserved.