The Rural Voice, 1994-03, Page 39Russia suffers
as agriculture
disintegrates
Granton area farmer
shocked at what he
found while on visit
By Bob Reid
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The farm Stan Malcolm worked
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Stan Malcolm was not prepared
for what he witnessed on the
Russian state farms when he
visited them last fall.
A disjointed system of agriculture
created by people and politics is
responsible for food shortages in
Russia, says the Granton -area farmer.
A cash crop farmer, Malcolm was
asked by the Western Canadian
Agriculture Development Co. Ltd. to
go to Russia and help improve
cropping methods there. He travelled
to Russia twice, from April to June
and then again in October, on the
project funded by the Canadian
government.
Like many North Americans, he
had heard that Russian agriculture
production, despite an abundance of
natural resources, including good
soil, had fallen behind. But he
simply couldn't believe how far. He
described a system of state farms,
each headed by a government -
appointed director who might know
nothing about agriculture while being
responsible for providing leadership
to a few hundred farm workers.
There are several department
heads on a state farm for various
functions — accounting,
transportation, machinery, livestock,
cropping — and often none knows
what the other is doing, explained
Malcolm.
A worker sent to cultivate a field
may have no idea why that task is
being performed or what will happen
to the field after he leaves it.
Malcolm observed a man who had
been operating a crop sprayer for
several years. Some of the spray
nozzles were bent 90 degrees,
spraying at the tractor rather than the
ground and had obviously been
operating that way for quite some
time.
The results are poor crop yields,
soil erosion and compaction and
inefficient machinery with a short life
expectancy because of no
maintenance. And the crops that are
harvested are often wasted because of
lack of storage or poor distribution.
"I'm not passing judgement...
just saying that is what happened...
" he said.
At the same time, Malcolm was
quick to point out the problem with
Russian agriculture is not the intellect
of the people but the system they are
in the difficult process of trying to
change.
But while the system is being
transformed to a market-driven
economy and the state farms
dissolved, Russian farmers are
reluctant to assume private control of
the land because they believe it is a
trick by the government, said
Malcolm, and something will be
expected of them which they are
incapable of providing.
The average worker in Russia
makes $500 (Canadian) per year, said
Malcolm. Bank interest rates are as
high as 210 per cent, inflation is
rampant and corruption is everywhere
as people try to provide essential
items for their families by stealing
them. Yet he encountered individuals
who he said were "the most kind,
generous and peaceful people I have
ever met."
During the time he spent in
Russia, accompanied by his wife,
Malcolm was able to plant crops of
Canadian barley and soybeans near
the Volga River where it enters the
Caspian Sea near Astrakhan. Not
without some difficulty, however.
While working with state
farm employees, he was
given a military vehicle
resembling a jeep to pull a
sprayer. He then requested a trailer
hitch be put on the back for that
purpose, a process which took several
consultations with mechanical
engineers and two -and -a -half weeks
to accomplish.
"They think big in Russia," said
Malcolm, referring to tractors that are
basically modified military vehicles.
The military equipment is taken off
and replaced with a three-point hitch.
He noticed that many of the
tractors are left parked on hillsides,
making them easier to start. Several
models he saw were started by using
a pull cord (no automatic rewind) to
first start a small gas engine on the
tractor which then is used to start the
MARCH 1994 35