Human capital in the agricultural regions

Abstract

Agricultural activity continues to play a significant role in the economy of the EU’s rural areas. Therefore, in connection with the new budget cycle starting the 1st of January, 2014, the elaboration of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has begun. The most important topics of the reforms of the CAP are food safety, supply safety, the agri-environment, the competitiveness of the agriculture and the development of the rural areas. One of the major means for the increase of competitiveness is the increase of the research-development support, and the development of human capital. Agrieducation is able to make available new knowledge for everybody, which beyond the increase of productivity, will increase the growth prospect of agricultural firms and decrease unemployment. Thus, it contributes to the increase of competitiveness of the farmlands. According to the above mentioned, the goal of the research was to define how human capital can be measured and according to the results how we can classify the regions. Another task of the research was to circumscribe those regions of the countries of Visegrád (V4), where agricultural activity is outstanding, and to examine in these regions the development level of the human resourse.