COMMUNIST CHINA'S AGRICULTURAL FAILURES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T01049A001100190002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 27, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 16, 1955
• Content Type: MF

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SECRET,
16 March 1955
MEMORANDUM FCR: Assistant Director for Research and Reports
25X1A SUBJECT s Communist China's Agricultural Failures
REFERENCE
25X1A
25X1 A o ORR, it is reques that your office prepare a short
s u
tli
i
ou
n
ng Chicom agricultural failures. Examples of
s
ecifi
f
il
p
c
a
ures, and where available, admissions by Chicom
leaders of weaknesses in the agricultural programs and program-
ming should be included.
20 The inclusion of a brief summary of the agricultural
problems facing the Chinese, in terms understandable to the non-
economist, is desirable, Also a listing of sources used in the
study, as well as other sources to be consulted would be very
helpful.
3. Other than in the brief summary, the study should con-
tain as much unclassified information as possible, and especially
that unclassified information which is freely available outside
the continental United States. The security classification of
all other information should be clearly indicated.
4. uestion rtaining to this request may be addressed
25X1 A to on extension 8653,
25X1A
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25X1A
25X1A
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Chief, Economic Research Area, ORRFRtl 3?
TRRU : Acting Chief, Materials Division, ORct
Chief, Food and Agriculture .Branch, D/M, ? R
16 March 1955
mittai of on Project 21.678, uBloc A;riculture failures"
1. The attached project is in response to a request from
25X1A _for exploratory research regarding Communist admissions
of failure in agriculture in the various Bloc countries. The
formation is presented per verbal instructions from- 25X1A
25X1 A and ."t/PR, ORR.
2. 1I/AG wishes to point out that an Unusually large ,mount
of information is available on difficulties being faced by the
Bloc countries in their attempts to develop agriculture.
information has been published by these governments since the
advent of the "Now Course" consumer ,?,oods policy which was
inaugurated in many of the Bloc countries about a year and a half
ago. The bulk of this material is readily available in the OCD
Library. All of the FBIS :A124Reports are available on micro-
film, except current issues which are in book farm. FBIBcaaomic
Abstracts from 1952 to the present are available in book or card
forma in the library. Issuer prior to 1952 are available from the
Record Center. Other publications, FDD translations, ORR projects?
and so on, are also available in the library. Other sources of
information are the Economic Plans Collection in the G Library,
the Monthly List of Rueeian Accessions, and the East European
25X1 C Accessions List published by the Library of Congress, and various
"Treasure Island," a collection of
translations prepared for the Air Force by the Air Information
Division of the Library of Congress, might also prove helpful.
In any avant, there is plenty of information, and the amount of
time spent in extraction and compilation could be excessive. The
Food and Agriculture Branch wishes to offer further assistance,
but the combination of an already overloaded schedule and lack
of personnel will force M/AG to severely limit its support until
sometime in the next fiscal year.
3. Requests for further information may be directed to
25X1A M/AO, extension 2791.
25X1A
attachment
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elease 200&E4, IIA-RDP79TO1049AO01100190002-7
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21.678,s "Bloc i rio ilture 'allures"
25X1A
examples of C unist a,
include these duo
various C
h might be blamed on the ppor administratUon an
ts information presented
of
1 causes as well
n limited to the
oh 19%, although much data exists prior to 1953.
this was to be an exploratory study, iroreation rtni
level, national, provincial, and
local leave
since ohs
sod or camouflaged. Indirect admission of failure should also be considered.
administrators. On the national level, eevarit *
easily made the local Populace act as a shook on
shown. 1P O believes that information
favorable when a
oc't admis3ion of shortages
ut the situation
not equal to the increased demand brough,
presented by each major area of the Bloc. It will be noted that the
primary sources of most of the data given are 31cc publications, newspapers and
which are unclassified, and radio broadcasts, which are also unclassified, or ocaasionall
for official use only.
1 level) Decree by Central Committee CPU, non Measures to further
ure."
Development of Soviet Lgricul-
STATSPEC
tentimee more accurate than th{
STATSPEC
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given in this doors*,
are in the agricultural scon such
,d so on.
breading in in a particularly
number of
e present time has not reached the prewar
head, and compared with 1928 has decreased by 8.9 million head...
Productivity of cattle
losses from cattle plague are great... The rodder base
is poorly +s veioped there
cattle are unsatiera
it, fodder, and potatoes. Shelter tacdl.ities
tae serious l&g in production Of potatoes Ni ;4vegetables
in development
o farms the barve$t of orope.
expenditure tansy and
drawback
productivity of livestock are
ad, there in heavy unprodttotivs ezpeen:dituree and over-
a,, and production cots are eery high-
and poor tending of grain, oil-bearing?
1 production.
b. (National levsi)
hcbev+s report at the plenary session
farther increase in the prc ct on.
reclamation of vir&in and idle land."
STATSPEC
cultivation on collective
arable state of affairs. The ar a
STATSPEC
upped by 1/3 during the past 3 years. Its tilde,
and particularly the marketable yield of flax fiber and seeds, eontinu+s to re
exceedingly 1
. The material i centives for Liax search have proved to be inefZocti .
cost of state f ra production is still very high."
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Sowing, in
vet,) eree of a
&I 'roduce Procuremen In 1954. Current DU-eat, o the Soviet
"The strs e against stgricultural crop pests and diseases is a ?juuized
quenc:ea of which the spread of agricultural crop
Committee of OP.W.
Preparations
1954* Unclassified.
Stich a sit"
P 1+enue>L of Central Committee G"13U.
. STATSPEC
,el 'AI a result of protracted g
level)
and amoanted,
lei
braedin) the produotiv'ity of cows is exceptionally
1,0290 kilogram's a
d 1,442 kilograms of milk 1953.
in 1940
954 plan for milk procurement and purchase was fulfilled scaly 1 74 pars3ae
but
(Local level)
340 eggs are
led by 20
ion of milk decreased by 10 percent.
Lys and state farms is bad lost.
lectiva far
hen 6 to 16 eggs per year an the aawveraj o. in tho
produced bm each 100 heat
here Is not an oz
STATSPEC
pariod to 1J4
son with
receive
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her and p
*d to fulfill their n for an
!e and sheep. Milk yields per have
2 kilograms instead aaC' the 220
oven decreased in collective
ei ht of fattened pigs and wool. clippings per sheep have
National level) Report on the work of the gave
blia of Cna, at the
session of the First National People's Congress.
M STATSPEC
STATSPEC
tither lengthy speech are references to difficulties being
d In agriculture, At h the floods in the ';agtse and uaz
STATSPEC
tate nt on, the consumer goods position also refers to the recent ti
"backward," and "because the acreage ~
enough,
Still live at a rather
23 meeti
bas ins being
prodac
still not
b. National level) Own Tun's statement at the September 3 meeting of the First
session of Vtie First National People's Congress.
and states that the "Supply Cann'
duotion in su lly, 5u7 , beca ,se the del and.
STATSPEC
goods." After several oo arisons of present output of v4rious a;yrioul , ca odtties
with pro-World War II
, Chan 'lain indirectly admits that sh. orta ea
by as
ion why supply, and dead failed to balance is not
the supply." Heavy
al production. p;
the demand for daily caod
envisaged in the
by a -lai,
d still faster than
n, aeeat, and oil-bearing crops are defended as
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nec 1sa for industrialization, and it is admitted that
and edible oil is not supported by all the people."
25X1 A ca.
Pao edit
production morale 'not Very steady
pal
cattle elauttred. Pall planting of wheat and rapeseed
db,
official Use 0
CHICOM
producer co
25X1A
"Edible oil :3'horta
crop harvests.
Comments Spring plan
pessimistic since
d. Regional papers state a+ peasants enteric
24, 1954). Dispatch f
up the peanut crops in
is an acute shorttre c,
nton.
collection of fartiil
or export to Russia
25X1A
spring plowing
or pe sec an is m
well done. In calert
25X1A
smut oils, which is the principal form of edible
goes on to state that shipments from other areas were to
wo meet reqaIre
ants. 'Do ration of peanut oil has, therefore, been further reduced in all part.
kept Canton,, where the Cc
ca put up a false front for t
benefit of overseas mesa in Hong Kong and Macao.
a. (Local level) So ea tate, Review of on
Unolassi,fied. "Famine in
1954).
patch t,
sell cattle instead of :have
an
ludo
gtsk, Yu
t 40,000 peasants in Xukong, Yingtak, Yun u n, and Chi
angtung (aing
press, 25 Iebrua 1954,
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or trod po
tact was admitted recently in the Cow-a
,n Paoe (Peasants' Journal). The paper said that in December last ye
poasant r died of dysentery or
t.
25X1A
subsidiary food or on wad plants.
a in so" northern Kwan,tun a rea# an a result*
a diet Of wild vegetati.on..'#
25X1A
10 Jon in Jib Pao In co mentin& on 1%b hina
production mentioned planned target soybean production fulfilled by 90 pe
oAB 1953....."
M
of iraepor
HIWI export co=ed
(Local level.) Sourest, CIA, F DD Summary No. 397,# 25
crops f.oodod--Peiping,
and frc o ini
Hein-yas, Nan-y
ording to the statiatica of
and hang-ch+iu
of Ronan, 75,150 plants have been flooded and 7,657 broken." Report goes on
CI,, F 3 ftnma y No. 397,p 25 i ebru ary
i.v?els raring the r
Food Ores Wages Protection of
indication COU has noted of soybean crop less than
rod have issued a directive to grain depar
ction of moisture content and the extermination o;...
in stored grains." Ilati is also made of the eh:or?tae of
the lack of warehouses, the lack of experience in the
d that "during 1954, in some areas, new gyreain infested with Insects was put into
SECRET
1 jjjjqOO a s tc
1955, Confidential.
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be sxaeris
the possibilities of en" W ele ant$ sabotaging granaries
t.0
. (provincial level) Sourcei
a aridenti.aa4.
'Oi] production to be
The oil-processing thdustr
"aativn*
ing
0. 397, 2,
ad in Chekiang--Tteftsif,
397, 25 Ftbraiary 19 55., Confidential.
onf'erensme- - ei sin er -miaz 1h-3 an, 4'anuarx 1
achieve a is of the state r , it h the
an the various farms,, and numr
as ttch disparity in
ravel) Sources D
o -Porch in Stati
till unable to keep up with the gain
d of living *nong the ople -
o. 397, 5 'ebr iaar
hog - pu ha a
Article praalases
it buys.
This record is compared to "the deplorable asituatic with respect to the health of
hogs a7
at roll
2 June
north slauht
n. ring the fir
6 months of iota
percent
;unioipti food trod Cr apaa ` were unfit for sale
average of 23.2 percent
ad 2 percent. :eighty-two percent of the hop
diseased and some day a #11 the hogs are diseased."
id
STATSPEC
zonal, level)
STATSPEC
by
o16.J
that "there is still
noses in atanuge ft
ins; `aa'. K#3R Pao
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"On account of unfavorable weather in the autumn and wintter, the autumn-awn crops
have suffered such dae. orsov'er, some of crops gown Is
table primary crops." (Hungary)
STATSPEC
STATSPECb.
yield of wheat and rye is not, however, satisfactoryt It is
no higher than the ave
Parr
for mwW years.
on al level) eso iotr of the Central - ttee of the Hungarian Workers
STATSPEC
ancea to agriculture, including the followings %,,r1cultural
production fails to live up to recrArewnts. Particularly backward Is the situation. as
of bread rains and the development of the breeding of horned
nel level) went by Seabed Lop on the port of th
Office !unhary on t ltill nt of the 1954 National Economic Flan.
STATSPEC
The editorial notes that tithe collection
satiaf ctor
with deliveries.
there was a
a considerable slac
did not fulfill the prud=e-collect ,on plan completely;
ant of the wine-collection plan, too. The editorial
as for January show that deliveries of pig quotas are also
proceeding e
vel) Address by Zenon MMoeak, before the Second. lenun or the PP
Central Co crittee at the July 2- , 1954 meting in Warsaw.
25X1A
STATSPEC
uca is not, proceeding
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iced ffo1ier7 Party ore;aiao for their failure to a 9a3u the
guidance and control of the problem of increasing farm output and for having? permitted
livestock and milk delivery plans during
of thine year. also criticized the state sac
their failure
to provide sufficient supplies and ~riaintain sufficient
distribution of fertilizers and farm machinery."
ationaal level)
nd
speech by Polish '
of to PZ HL on March 10, 194. The appech deals largely with progress
or lack of it) under
25X1A
a,?. riculture Includes the following statements "Whereas in the per;
1950-53 industrial production increased by 118 percent, the atricultuni pri
-eased by only 10 percent. -he comparison between those Shares proves
maid of ag `iculturee, and also that the discrepancy between the development of
25X1A
industry and *r, t`icul,turd has assumed a serious character, breaking down the further
development of the national scone . The development of s hri
production not
o fulfill the tasks of the Six 'fear Plan but the lit four years displayed
u*erod faults and shortcomings."
(National level) Summary or speech delivered by Premier :iivoky at the recent
sooting of the Central Coximittes, of the eeohvelofak C
Party.
STATSP
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speech is primarily concerned with a review oL the prevent situation and playa
for future develop nt of Czechoslovak a ,riou1cure.
one regarding animal httsb
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as "serious," and it is stated the ;,t previous emotions to "heese
have been unsatisfactory. chanisation is proposed as
fltipthe
al production are called for. ortal
STATSPEC
admitted. .e number of swine and sheep has is croased, but bee and dairy
Was as a rem It o the shrinkage of the
production." Attention mat be given to todtr
oval) each by t rapier siyouy at the Czechoslovak Comm=
al level) So;srces CIA, 1DD Summary No. 3840 14 February l r)5,, Confidential.
Rumanian publication
(l3uohare3t), 26 Novarnber 1954, criticises a
output of milk has gone down. Other difficulties an mantic d.
livestock brooding station and state f ra< which ne ;lect proper aura of l1vostocle.
!ationa1level) Sources
datwos
res cc pleted by 1 January 1955.n
14 February