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Agricultural land, as a component of the environment, is one of the irreplaceable natural resources and, at the same time, through its functions, is an integral part of the quality of human lives. Several international institutions or scientists point to problems with land loss or decline in quality and, ultimately, to the increased need for soil protection, based on which governments implement various tools. The aim of the paper is therefore to compile a general overview of existing tools for the protection of agricultural land in Slovakia and to analyse selected strategies for land protection in the EU. The main source of information was represented by literary sources of publications by scientific researchers, Slovak and European bodies or institutions, and, last but not least, legal acts. The paper points to a wide range of existing tools and innovative strategies for the protection of agricultural land in Slovakia and the EU.

Agricultural land is currently protected by many subjects and institutions. The characteristics of the soil in terms of its functions and importance for individuals or society from perspectives of several scientific disciplines is dealt with by several authors. The aim of the paper is to point out the current state and importance of the agricultural land protection in Slovakia in connection with the threats that affect its quantity and overall quality. The indicators as the area of agricultural land and the structure of the land fund, the evolution of agricultural land withdrawals for non-agricultural purposes and the current state or structure of legislation and institutions in the field of agricultural land protection in Slovakia were evaluated. The paper pointed out the important role of agricultural land in the country, as its area, especially with the majority of arable land and permanent grasslands, represents the majority of the total area of Slovakia. For several years, however, the volume of agricultural land has been steadily declining. This phenomenon is partly caused by the agricultural land withdrawals, which have now managed to stabilize at an average of 1000ha of withdrawn land per year. In Slovakia, there is currently a large number of legislative acts regulating the protection and agricultural land withdrawals, as well as a wide range of state and non-state institutions that operate in the field of agricultural land protection. The effectiveness of the implementation of legislation and the effectiveness of mutual cooperation of institutions seems questionable focusing on the current state of the land fund, which leads to the need to expand research on these aspects.

Social entrepreneurship is important tool in eliminating regional disparities, inclusion of socially excluded people into society, overall improvement of the quality of life and much more. This paper aims to analyse the development of municipal social entrepreneurship in the conditions of the Banská Bystrica self-governing region, where some of the less developed districts are located. The main sources of research were questionnaire realized among local government representatives, plan of the economic and social development of the district and statistical data. In the article, there were many indicators examined, such as quantity of the municipal social enterprises, its activities, support or barriers of its development. The results points to fact that only 7% of the participants of research own municipal social enterprise. The most common barrier to establish and manage these enterprises is inadequate knowledge of the relevant legislation.

In Slovakia, the large-scale acquisition of agricultural land in combination with land concentration represents a legitimate threat that can lead to land grabbing. Based on the research, two interrelated areas of protection need to be effectively regulated to limit land grabbing: the protection of access to land and the protection of agricultural land. Due to the absence of relevant data analysis regarding this issue, the main aim of the study was to analyse the emergence of land concentration in Slovakia based on historical and cultural factors and to evaluate the current legislative and institutional framework of both aspects of land protection with a possible impact on the successively graduating threat of land grabbing. In particular, analytical methods were used, presenting the data from secondary literature sources, a questionnaire survey, and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Slovakia. The research shows that although the state has adopted the necessary legal framework for the protection of property rights to agricultural land, it is not possible to enforce it, as the institutional framework for its implementation is absent. It is also the state’s malfunctioning land protection regulatory mechanism and the absence of indirect action instruments that may be key indicators leading to the processes of industrial agriculture. Therefore, the adoption of legislation limiting agricultural land acquisition is important, but the processes of land grabbing presume the state’s complex provision of a regulatory mechanism and adoption of strategic measures aimed at sustainable land quality and food security.