ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the weaknesses in Soviet agriculture and the obstacles hindering the implementation of radical reform. It presents a summary of the evolution of Hungarian agricultural policy since 1965. The government realized that private-plot production increased the standard of living of the rural population, contributed toward greater agricultural supplies for the urban population, industry and exports, and added to the state’s tax base. Agricultural prices were consciously kept artificially low primarily to maintain domestic consumer-price stability and to avoid unacceptable income differentials between industrial and agricultural workers. The chapter examines the reasons that Hungarian experience has only limited applicability as well as the positive lessons that Hungary offers the Soviet Union. If the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is to survive in a democratic environment, it must implement an agrarian policy that leads to the revitalization of rural regions throughout the Soviet Union.
