Farmers on the reasons for their embodied anxieties in post-1991 Slovenia

Abstract

In the previous three decades, Slovenian agriculture has been exposed to two major changes: the proclamation of a sovereign Slovenian nation-state in 1991 after the disintegration of socialist Yugoslavia and integration into the European Union in 2004. The so-called transition from socialist structures and practices to a full-fledged market economy in agriculture has brought farmers numerous opportunities for development but also experiences of concerns and pressures. What do farmers tell us about the embodied anxieties they experience in connection with these changes? This is the main research question of the ethnographic study (2020–2024) conducted in rural northeastern Slovenia. The article focuses on farmers’ reflections on unfair prices in the food chain and their lack of cooperation in the post-1991 agricultural context as a cause of their lived experience of not being well. Drawing on some theorizations regarding the moral economy, the present ethnographic research shows that farmers’ narratives are shaped by feelings and thoughts about insecurity and responsibility for their constant concerns and experiences of not being well.