V članku je obravnavano področje varovanja kmetijskih zemljišč pred pozidavo v Sloveniji z vidika plačila zaradi spremembe namembnosti. Posebno plačilo zaradi spremembe namembnosti kmetijskih zemljišč je bilo na območju Slovenije uvedeno v sedemdesetih letih preteklega stoletja, z njim so želeli upočasniti takratne izredno velike posege v kmetijski prostor in hkrati pridobiti finančne vire za vlaganja v kmetijstvo, predvsem v agrarne operacije. V raziskavi smo preučevali metodologijo obračunavanja ter višino odškodnine za spremembo namembnosti kmetijskih zemljišč na območju Slovenije za posamezne časovne intervale v obdobju 1979–2012. Poleg rezultatov raziskave predstavljamo zakonska določila, ki so v posameznih obdobjih urejala področje obravnave. Višina namenskega plačila zaradi spremembe namembnosti kmetijskih zemljišč je za študijsko obdobje predstavljena za tri katastrske okraje (Novo mesto, Kranjsko Goro, Mursko Soboto) ter podrobneje za izvedene primere plačil na območju upravne enote Lendava v katastrskem okraju Murska Sobota. Ugotovili smo, da se je višina plačila zaradi spremembe namembnosti kmetijskih zemljišč spreminjala po obdobjih in da je bila v preteklosti že veliko višja od višine plačila, ki je bila določena s spremembo zakonodaje v letu 2011 in v letu 2012 še znižana ; This article discusses the field of agricultural land protection against soil sealing in Slovenia from the perspective of the land development tax applied to land-use changes. In Slovenia, the land development tax for agricultural land use change was introduced in 1970s with the aim to slow-down the then huge interventions in agricultural land and at the same time to get financial resources for investments in agriculture, in particular for the purpose of agrarian operations. In the research, the methodology for calculating the land development tax for conversion of agricultural land to built-up land and the amount of the tax in Slovenia during reference intervals in the study period 1979-2012 is analysed. The results of the research are presented together with the legal framework, which regulated the discussed field in individual time periods. For the study period, an analysis of methodology for calculating the agricultural land development tax was done for three cadastral districts (Novo mesto, Kranjska Gora and Murska Sobota), and an in-depth analysis of actual payments was done in the area of administrative unit of Lendava in the cadastral district of Murska Sobota. It has been shown that the amount of the agricultural land development tax was changing in the study period and that its value in the past had significantly exceeded the amount, which was determined with the change of legislation in 2011, and has been even decreased in 2012.