Agricultural Policy in Former Soviet Union

Agricultural policy in the Soviet Union is of particular interest in early1989, because it is a part of perestroika, the master policy through which Gorbachev hopes to restructure the country's economic and political systems (Gorbachev, 1987). A comparison of contemporary agricultural policy with that of the Khrushchev years is relevant, because it was under his leadership that the last meaningful attempt at agricultural reform in the Soviet Union was made (Paxton, 1988).

The following discussion presents a brief summarization of the treatment of perestroika in the west, and of comparisons (when they have been made) with past reform in the Soviet Union. The examination and comparison policy in the two periods are then presented.

SUMMARY OF WESTERN ASSESSMENT

Western assessment of perestroika runs the gamut from fawning praisethe minorityto a highly negative skepticism which holds that

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cern of Khrushchev was productivity improvement. He wanted to adopt the most efficient methods, such as mineral fertilization, regardless of the fact that such methods originated in the west (McCarley, 1987). He wanted to provide the degree of mechanization required to make Soviet farming a productive enterprise in the contemporary world (Khrushchev, 1970). He wanted to provide farmers with the necessary material incentives to cause them to plant the highest yield crops, and to devote an optimal effort to collective agricultural enterprises (Khrushchev, 1970). He also wanted compensation "for collective farmers . . . determined by their productivity" (Khrushchev, p. 127). With respect to this latter goal, Khrushchev said that: I realize that by . . . advocating material incentives I'm opening myself up to those . . . who will say our people should be motivated not by money but by ideological considerations. That's nonsense . . . the majority of collective farm administrators who are paid a flat salary won't take any chances for the sake of improving production. . . . The main thing in the struggle for socialism is the productivity of labor. For socialism to be victorious, a country must get the most out of every wo
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Approximate Word count = 6218
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page)