According to statistical data from 1921, the village had a total population of 6,211. The ethnic composition was largely homogeneous: 96.9% Serbs and 3.1% Hungarians. There were 1,360 households in the village.
Among the rural landowners, about twenty families owned estates ranging from 50 to 200 jutras. The wealthiest included: Boško and Milić Sekulić with 200 jutras each, Ranko Marinkov with 150 jutras, Laza Sekulić and Marjan Varadinac with over 100 jutras each, Čeda Doroslovac and Svetozar Ćurčić with 96 jutras each, Laza and Branko Stojić with 80 jutras, Živa Čobanov with over 70 jutras, and Ilija Sekulić with 70 jutras. Around thirty families owned approximately 50 jutras, while twenty families had about 30 jutras. There were also roughly 70 craftsmen and skilled workers in the village.
Land Holdings of the Kumana Political Municipality
Immediately after World War I, before the agrarian reform, the land holdings of the Kumana political municipality covered a total of 5,341 jutras and 762 square hvats, broken down as follows:
- Arable land: 678 jutras and 428 hvats
- Gardens: 1 jutro and 426 hvats
- Meadows: 6 jutras and 1,198 hvats
- Pastures: 4,108 jutras and 831 hvats
- Barren land: 546 jutras and 1,079 hvats
The total arable land amounted to 686 jutras and 425 hvats, while non-arable land covered 4,655 jutras and 310 hvats.
Large Estates and Agrarian Reform
The largest estate in this period was owned by Emilija Ivanović (née Dunđerski), totaling 4,181 jutras. Her estate stretched on both sides of the Tisa River, within the Bečej and Kumana territories, and was cultivated mainly by Kumana villagers as hired labor. They also farmed land belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church municipality in Kumana, totaling 577 jutras and 715 hvats.
By the 1931 Agrarian Reform Liquidation Act, 67 jutras and 1,186 hvats of municipal land were set aside for reform, while 571 jutras and 726 hvats were sold through optional purchase. Complete records of the sale conditions were not preserved, but it is known that 392 buyers paid 572,410 dinars. A subsequent decision by the Banovina of the Danube administration in 1935 added 25 more jutras for reform, bringing the total to 92 jutras and 1,186 hvats.
Expropriated land from Emilija Ivanović in the Novi Bečej cadastral area was distributed among volunteers and agrarian stakeholders in Kumana. Out of a total of 2,120 jutras and 1,373 hvats, 1,191 jutras and 1,138 hvats were allocated to Kumana residents. Agrarian stakeholders were to pay 1,727,044.48 dinars, while the state paid 316,593.06 dinars for volunteers. 28 jutras and 295 hvats were designated as public land for Kumana. The remaining expropriated land was distributed to agrarian stakeholders and volunteers in Novi Bečej, as well as for public use. Emilija Ivanović also sold 224 jutras and 1,190 hvats to villagers through optional purchase.
From the Serbian Orthodox Church’s land in Kumana, 150 jutras and 126 hvats were expropriated for agrarian reform, distributed among 128 agrarian stakeholders, with a small portion going to the municipality. According to the expropriation decision of the Agrarian Reform Commission in Zrenjanin (Petrovgrad) No. 13555, dated September 28, 1936, the agrarian stakeholders paid 240,560.57 dinars, with annual installments of 15,660.49 dinars, and a colonization fund of 9,622.42 dinars.
Consequences of Agrarian Reform
The agrarian fund in Kumana was insufficient to meet the needs of many poor farmers. The land allocated was mostly infertile, marshy, and often far from the village, making cultivation difficult. Unable to farm the land themselves, and burdened by high taxes and repayment obligations, many agrarian families were forced to sell it. According to contemporary accounts, nearly 50% of recipients sold their land. Those who retained land were mostly families who already owned property and agricultural equipment before the reform.
Improper implementation of the agrarian reform led to significant social differentiation in Kumana. Wealthier farmers gradually became capitalists and entrepreneurs, while poor peasants, especially agrarians, became hired laborers. Those who could not find agricultural work were often forced to emigrate, mostly to the United States.
The rural proletariat sought to improve their situation by relocating to new settlements established on former large estates. This led to the creation of villages such as Velike Livade, Stajićevo, Vojvoda Stepa, and Karađorđevo. Many peasant families and rural poor left Kumana at this time, primarily settling in Stajićevo and Velike Livade.
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