ABSTRACT
From 1944 to 1989, Bulgarian agriculture was among the most completely collectivized in the world. Collectivization resulted in the rapid modernization of an agricultural sector backward even by East European standards. The new farms consolidated Bulgaria’s scattered, fragmented plots and state support permitted the introduction of machines and chemicals. This combination of extensive growth and borrowed technology resulted in growth rates of gross output averaging 3 percent per year 1960-9, impressive rates by both East and West European standards (Boyd 1991:101; Lazarcik 1973:463).
