Changing Economic Priorities: Agriculture

Question 1

What was the optimism of soviet leaders with regards to the economy after Stalin’s death?

Answer 1

From Stalin’s death to 1985: convinces Stalin’s economic model would one day overtake capitalist economies

Question 2

Summarise the economy after Stalin’s death

Answer 2

Khrushchev reforms led to further optimism:
Between 1956 and 1958: the economy performed WELL

BUT

From 1959: growth slowed
Within a decade: the economy was stagnant

Question 3

What was Khruschev’s attitude to agriculture?

Answer 3

He recognised that collectivisation had led to an extremely INEFFICIENT agricultural sector

SO

He introduced important REFORMS in Soviet agriculture

Question 4

Khrushchevs investment in agriculture:

Incentives?

Answer 4

Khrushchev paid farmers HIGHER PRICES for their produce====

Incentivised production
Boosted farm incomes by 250% (1952-56)

Question 5

Khrushchevs investment in agriculture:

The Virgin Lands Scheme

Answer 5

INCREASE the amount of land being farmed
SO
Launched the Virgin Lands Scheme:

Created new farms in—
• the northern Caucasus
• Kazakhstan
• Western Siberia

Question 6

Khrushchevs investment in agriculture:

His investment?

Answer 6

He tried to make agriculture more efficient by investing in:

• artificial fertilisers: this boosted production by 40%!
• tractors— boosted production by 30%

Furthermore, investment in agriculture grew from
1954– 3% of budget
1959– 12.8% of budget

Question 7

Why were the agricultural successes 1954-58?

Answer 7

Initially, his policies were highly successful:

• overall, agricultural production increased by around 35.3% (1954-58)
• SO IMPRESSIVE were the early successes that, in 1956, K set a hugely ambitious target:

Overtaking US farm production by 1960

Question 8

In spite of the initial success of Khrushchev agricultural policy, there were still…

Answer 8

Fundamental problems with soviet agriculture (1954-64)

Question 9

How was inefficient a problem of soviet agriculture 1954-64?

Answer 9

Agriculture remained highly inefficient:

• VIRGIN LANDS SCHEME— required complex irrigation systems. This made the cost of production hiiiiiiigh
• EXTREMELY LABOUR INTENSIVE— during the 1950s and 1960s, around 50% of the population worked in agriculture (5% in US) YET US agriculture produced double the amount of food

Question 10

Why was slow growth an agricultural problem 1954-64?

Answer 10

1959-64: agricultural growth slowed— farm production grew by around 15%

Soviet agriculture failed to meet Khrushchev’s target: overtaking the USA in food production

Question 11

What were the on-going problems of soviet agriculture 1954-64?

Answer 11

Poor performance was the result of significant economic problems:

• CENTRAL PLANNING: farmers did not always use the correct fertiliser at the right time (waste)🕡🕢🕘⚗️
• Khrushchev repeatedly REFORMED the ministries dealing with agriculture—> contradictory reforms—> administrative confusion🤔🤔
• Soviet farms—> inadequate storage facilities SO some of the food produced was wasted 🏚
• PAY for the agricultural workers ✅ increased ❌ remained inadequate

Question 12

Reform to agriculture after Khrushchev?

Answer 12

Failure of his reforms and the instability they created—

Leading communists reversed his reforms after 1964

+++++

Rejected the very IDEA of reform

Question 13

Talk to me about agriculture 1964-85?

Answer 13

Brezhnev was content to manage the Stalinist system.

Largely abandoned attempts to make agriculture more productive

Instead— authorised large-scale grain imports from the West to keep food prices low

Question 14

What was the consequence of high oil prices on soviet agriculture 1964-85?

Answer 14

Brezhnev could buy large amounts of grain from the West by selling oil

1970s— oil prices HIGH:
Selling it generated a great deal of income for the Soviet Union
^^^ some of this used to fund food imports