ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the consequences of the transformation for the agricultural sector in one Eastern German county. It provides a brief summary of the process of German unification and describes the locale of the research. The chapter examines the organizational change resulting from the restructuring of the agricultural collectives and also discusses the implications of these changes for agricultural production and employment. It summarizes the change in employment and living standard in the community since unification and deals with a discussion of the broader context in which agricultural change takes place. During the latter part of the 1950s farmers were pressured into forming agricultural collectives. One consequence of the agricultural collectivization in East Germany was the disappearance of the occupation of farmer. A comparison of agricultural enterprises with industrial enterprises in Eastern Germany shows that the former have several advantages as they enter the new economic system.
