DOCTRINAL LANDMARKS OF THE INTERWAR PERIOD REGARDING THE SMALL AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS AND THE ROMANIAN RURAL AREAS

Abstract

The 1921 agrarian reform had a strong social and national character, enforcing a certain degree of uniformity in the structure of the Kingdom of Romaniaʼs land fund, as well as a political one, yet not an economic one, given that although agricultural holdings under 5 hectares became numerically dominant, they did not prove to be economically viable over time. The agrarian reform enacted in 1921 attempted to address millions of peasant land ownership claims. As it intended to establish a consistent structure for the land fund of the interwar Kingdom of Romania, this extensive historical reform had far-reaching social and national ramifications. However, it did not have the envisaged significant economic implications, as the prevalence of smaller agricultural holdings (under 5 hectares) increased numerically to the point where they essentially became dominant but failed to demonstrate long-term economic sustainability or viability. Contemporary and recent authors who specialize in Romanian rural issues emphasize the fact that, despite the assertions of the National Liberal Party and the National Peasant Party that the 1921 reform successfully resolved the agrarian issue, representatives from other political parties during that period continued to argue that the agrarian question remained unsatisfactorily unresolved.