Reactions to Globalization and Integration in the Czech Agro-Food Complex

The paper addressees the issues of integration and globalization in the Czech agro-food chain. It describes the situation before 1989 when partial processes of integration took place under strong influence of the state. The relatively closed communist system disabled the globalization as understood by Western sociologists. The paper also examines how the different types of agrofood chain formed under the communist state encounter the integration and globalization known in a market economy after 1989. The character of this connection, and latent conflicts concerning the struggle to influence and to control agro-food chain are documented. Newly emerging types of relations between farmers and food processors with indications as to some factors influencing the action of both groups (especially the role of cultural and social capital), are discussed. The conclusions consider the role of the state, the market and the civil sector (where an important role is played by the grass-root cooperatives) in balancing the relations between local and global levels.