Acquisition of agricultural and forest land

Rules regarding the use and disposition of agricultural land are set out in Act No. 334/1992 Coll., on the protection of agricultural land, as amended. Under the act, agricultural land is composed of agricultural land that is farmed: arable land; hops fields; vineyards; gardens; orchards; meadows; pastures; land which has been and is expected to continue to be farmed but temporarily is not. It also includes ponds for fish or water fowl farms and non-agricultural land needed for agricultural production such as field paths, land with facilities important for irrigation, irrigation water reservoirs, drainage ditches, dams that prevent oversaturation and flooding, terracing to protect against erosion, etc.

Agricultural land protection is especially based in protecting land area and quality. Bodies which commission and draft regional planning documentation and source material are also obliged to respect this aim. These bodies are therefore under an obligation to design and justify solutions which are most suitable in terms of agricultural land protection.

Planning permits which affect agricultural land may not be issued if the agricultural land protection authority has not already approved of revoking the permit, except in cases where this approval is not necessary.

The details on the agricultural land protection authority's activities in processing regional planning documentation are regulated in Decree No. 13/1994 Coll., concerning details of the protection of agricultural land, as amended.