Protection of Arable Land in Slovenia: Between Illusions and Reality

The chapter analyses changes in arable land in areas of strategic importance for agriculture and food production. Slovenia lags behind most European countries in terms of self-sufficiency in domestically produced food. At a time when food is becoming an important strategic commodity due to unstable geopolitical conditions in the immediate vicinity, the processes of changes in arable land even on the highest quality land are unfavourable. Of particular concern is the spread of overgrown land and built-up land onto the highest quality arable land. The chapter presents the characteristics of land use changes in areas of exceptional importance for agriculture and food production after 2016, when the Government of the Republic of Slovenia adopted measures aimed at mitigating or reversing adverse trends in the direction of increasing self-sufficiency and food independence.