Does land fragmentation affect land productivity? Empirical evidence from Bulgaria

Land fragmentation is considered a major obstacle to the efficient use of land and other agricultural resources in Bulgaria. This study is concerned with formally testing the relationship between fragmentation of land plots and land productivity in the country. Multiple regression analysis and agricultural data obtained from the 2003 Bulgaria Multi-topic Household Survey is employed for the purpose. Results of the study suggest that the level of current fragmentation is relatively low and not likely to adversely affect land productivity. Other conditions being equal, therefore, land consolidation may not lead to any significant improvement in productivity in Bulgaria.