ABSTRACT
A country's agrarian system, seen as part of the overall economic and social system, is determined, in general, by the ideas and principles according to which the social and economic relations of the people engaged in agriculture both among themselves and with means of production are shaped. The task assigned to agriculture-that of continually improving the supply of foodstuffs to population and of raw materials to the food processing industry from domestic production-also explains why increasing agricultural output whilst at the same time raising productivity is still one of the most important economic goals for agriculture. Methodologically consistent calculation procedures also make possible output and productivity comparisons between two German agricultures, which is helpful if only because there exist no absolute yardsticks of agricultural performance. Although there is no official reporting of revenue/ expenditure ratios in agriculture, the available data nevertheless provide a sufficiently reliable basis for an estimate of the economic efficiency of German Democratic Republic (GDR) agriculture.
