Agriculture under Brezhnev

Like with his predecessors, Brezhnev faced many issues with agriculture, but arguably went to a greater effort to solve them.

He recognised that agricultural underperformance and rural poverty posed a major problem for the economy. This was being made worse by movement of younger, potentially more productive peasants to towns, with better conditions. Peasants were treated like second-class citizens. Discriminatory measures against them were reversed and there were other reforms.

-          Peasants were given internal passports for the first time – could move home and become eligible for same social security benefits as urban workers.

·         Reduced but didn’t eliminate gap in living standards between urban areas and countryside. Consumer goods still less likely to be available

-          Rationalisation of administration of framing: farms given slightly fewer plan targets to meet

-          Fewer restrictions on private plots

-          End to Khrushchev’s experiments

-          Attempt to integrate farms more closely with rural industries towards the end.

-          Also attempts to link income more closely to results, groups of peasants worked in small brigades.

·         But didn’t significantly boost output

-          Increased investment in agriculture

·         Over 26% of state investment in 1976-80 compared to 20% in 1960-65.

·         Overall state investment in agriculture tripled during Brezhnev era, but poorer return

This had mixed results:

-          Rapid rise in output

·         In 1970s USSR was world’s largest wheat producer.

-          But gains slowed and returns to investment input declined.

-          Soviet citizens earned more, but increased demand led to shortages in food shops controlled by state.

-          Prices in collective farm markets run by peasants more than doubled.

-          The government were reluctant to risk unpopularity in raising prices to regulate demand

·         Increasing gap between supply and demand for food, increased dependence on foreign imports (wheat)

Therefore although agriculture initially underwent a positive change, like most other areas during Brezhnev’s era, it stagnated and had social implications as well. My conclusion would be that  moderate change was made, but to limited success.