Land Reform and the Future Role of Cooperatives in Agriculture in the Former Socialist Countries in Europe

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the process of change as it is actually unfolding in the former socialist countries and provides a comparative review of two main issues: an account of the land reform process and an overview of the attempts to restructure and privatize the collective and state farms, with a special reference to the future role of cooperatives. Agriculture in all former socialist countries in Europe was organized on similar principles of a centrally planned economy with a pervasive administrative command system. The philosophy of controlling agriculture by plans and administrative commands created a farming structure based on dominance of large-scale farms. Land-reform legislation in Russia and other republics recognizes two sources of land for distribution: state reserve land for establishment of new private farms and the land of large-scale farms for expansion of subsidiary household holdings and for allocation to members.