ECONOMIC-AGRICULTURE, CROPS, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, MECHANIZATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210103-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 103
• Publication Date: March 6, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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COUNTRY
SUBJECT
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHD
CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTED
SECURITY INFORWEI(?N
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT NO.
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
USSR'- Ukrainian SSR
y
Economic - Agriculture, crops, animal
husbandry, mechanization
Da11y newspaper
1
Kiev
DATE
PUBLISHED 25'~Sgp 1952
LANGUAGE Russian
0! TMC 001,10 STOOLS. 11T01.1 rot 01 ,01.0 .111 5 II. 1IEtIG01 T]
AND ^0A. 0t 101 CO. COGS. AS #1110010. ITS 70.0,0.SI.GO OR RICE.
EAT100 Of It1 COAt10TS TO 04 AICIIPT SC AN 0IAGT00AI,E0 IOASOO 12
DATE Or
INFORMATION 1952
DATE DIST. ro Mar 1953
NO. OF PAGES 5
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
REVIIN OF UKRAINIAN AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS
AT 17TH REPUBLIC PARTY CONGRESS
,The following information on the progress of agriculture in
Ukrainian SSR is from a report given on 24 September 1952 by L. G.
Mel'nikov, secretary of the TsK KP(b) of the Ukraine, to the 17th
Congress of the KP(b) of the Ukraine)
During the period covered by this report apparently 1 January 1949 to
mid*.1957, kolkhozes and sovkhozes of the republic have fully utilized all
plowable land, extended the sown area, exceeded prewar yields for the most
important agricultural crops, and considerably increased the number of col-
lectivized livestock. Kolkhoz organization has been further strengthened,
and the material well being and cultural level of the kollhoz peasantry has
been increased. This year's crop in the Ukraine is a good one.
Crops
The total sown area in the republic in 1952 was L,676,000 hectares larger
than in' 1948. The area sown to industrial crops increased by 445,000 hectares
in this period, and plantings of cotton and sugar beets now exceed the area
devoted to these crops in the prewar period. '1'h . ^_x=a L., iul.tuur crops
+^^~e^. ^a b; i,CCLares in this period, and also exceeds the prewar
level. ,The apparent inconsistency of these figures may be explained by the
fact that the Soviets often omit perennial grass acreages in presenting total
sown area date. If this is true in this case, perennial grasses would account
for a large portion of the 2.6-million-hectare increase in the area sown to
fodder crops since 19482. The area sown to winter wheat in 1952 was 2,00,000
hectares larger taan in 1948, and almost 2 million hectares larger than in 1940.
mere, the apparent inconsistency with data cited above may be explained by
expansion r+f the area sown to winter wheat at the expense of area sown to other
grains] The gross grain crop has thereby considerably increased. In fall 1952,
kolkhozes of the republic further extended the area sown to winter wheat by one
million hectares.
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Only about 40 percent of the wheat is sown on clean fallow, and the rest
on s,,aubble fields, etc. Whether clean or black fallow is used, kolkhozea as a
rule obtain a good wheat harvest, although yields could be increased considerably.
Raising the yield of -winter wheat to 20 quinLala per hectare is one of the most
important tasks of party organizations and agricultural organs:
In recent years kolkhozes have been obtaining small harvests of coarse
grains. The buckwheat harvest has been particularly poor in Chernigovskaya,
Zhitomirskaya, and Sumakaya oblasts. Maize occupies a large area in the re-
public. Many kolkhozes and ever whole rayons obtain good harvests of this crop
from year to year. However, maize yields are still low in the republic as a
whole. Pu'ses are also important crops, particularly in the 'Western obl.asts.
These crops are not only edible, but are natural gatherers of nitrogen which
enriches the soil.
The area planted to sugar beets in the republic has increased by 84,000
hectares, or 10 percent, since 1940, arm. yields have improved considerably.
The 1951 beet harvest was processed to obtain 45,500,000 more pad of sugar than
that obtained from the 1940 harvest. The 1952 sugar beet harvest should be as
Yxrge as the 1951 harvest. Prospects for further development of this crop are
g0od. For example, Kievskaya Oblast has not once fulfilled annual plans for
delivery of sugar beets to the state in the postwar period. Many kolkhozes of
Vinnitskaya, Poltavskaya, and Kirovogradskaya oblasts produce small harvests
of sugar beets. In 1951, 2,077 kolkhozes of the republic gave the sugar plants
less than 150 quintals of beets per hectare planted. The same year, 1,136 kol-
khozes delivered over 250 quintals of beets per hectare planted, i.e., attained
the yield. set for the end of the Fifth Five-Year Plan. In the Fifth Five-Year
Plan the area planted to sugar beets is to be extended, and yields brought up
to 255-265 quintals per hectare. To do this mechanization and agricultural
techniques must be further developed.
Next to Uzbek SSR, more cotton is planted in the Ukraine than in any other
? USSR republic, and this is the principal area of nonirrigated cotton. Sawn
areas aria yields have increased considerably in recent years, but the annual
stag plans for 'cotton procurement have not been fulfilled. Party organizations
in U'esskaya and Nikolayevskaya oblasts have done a particularly poor job in
developing cotton cultivation. The Fifth Five-Year Plan calla for an average
yield of from 5 to 7 quintals per hectare on nonirrigated areas and from 11 to
13 quintals per hectare on irrigated areas. Mechanization and agricultural
technique levels must be improved, and scientific-research establishments and
agricultural specialists must develop new quick-ripening, long-fiber, strong
boll varieties of cctton to accomplish this task.
Yields and gross production of all industrial, oleaginous, and vegetable-
cucurbit crops and potatoes must be raised.
To. accomplish these goals, land utilization must be improved, crop rotation
and sownings of grasses expanded, plowing of winter and summer fallow carefully
observed. Annlirati.+r -1 jL111,,G,n increased, use of selected
and adapted seed insured, and extensive work on shelter belts carried out.
Animal Husbandry
The Three-Year Plan for the Development of Collectivized Animal Husbandry
was fulfilled by kolkhozes of the republic, and livestock numbers now exceed
prewar levels. During the past 3 years (1949 - 1951), collectivized livestock
on kolkhozes of the Ukrainian SSR have increased as follows: cattle 80 percent,
including cows 198 percent; hogs 215 percent; sheep and goats 159 percent; and
mature fowl 342 percent. Collectivized animal husbandry on kolkhozes and sov-
khozes became predominant in the republic apparently over privately conducted
animal husbandry) as to both livestock numbers and animal productivity. However,
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some oblasts, particularly Nikclayevskaya, Khersonskaya, and Zaporozhskaya
oblasts, failed to fulfill the Three-Year Plan for cattle, hogs, and fowl. The
basic shortcoming in animal husbandry is low animal productivity. Milk yields
are particularly low in kolkhozes of Zhitomirskaya, Kamenete-Podo1.'skava. Cher-
nigovskaya, Volynskaya, and Ternopol'skaya oblasts. By the end of the Fifth Five-Year
Plan, milk.y'ielda must be increased 50 percent, fattening of hogs and cattle must be
improved, and. the average wool clip must be increased. To achieve these goals,
the fodder base must be enlargea, breeding techniques improved, the number of
mature females, especially cows, increased, sterility abolished, the number of
fine-wool sheep increased, and commerical poultry farming further developed on
kolkhozes.
Mechanization
During the last 3 years (1949 - 1951), the number of tractors available
for agriculture in Ukrainian SSR has increased 42 percent, the capacity of the
republic tractor park has increased 53 percent, the number of grain combines
has increased 124 percent, etc. The number of trucks in ML'S, kolkhozes, and
sovkhozes -- taking the 2-ton truck as the basis of computation -- has increased
36 percent, and the number of trucks available to U1=C, lavsa.khar (Hain Admini-
stration of Sugar Industry, Ministry of Food Industry Ukrainian SS4 Zagottrans
A-11-Union Office for Procurement Transport?), and Sovkhoztrans LA11-Union
Office for Sovkhoz Transport) has increased 104 percent. The number of plows,
cultivators, seeders, threshers, and other machines has increased considerably.
At present, there are 1,386 MPS and other specialized stations in the republic.
MPS perform approximately 80 percent of all field. work in the republic.
However, some MPS are not fulfilling their contracts with kolkhozes; some
shortcomings which characterize their work are delay and poor-quality work,
inadequate interrow working of cultivated crops, insufficient combine harvesting
of grains, and not enough plowing of winter and black summer fallow. Mechani-
zation of labor-consuming work on livestock farms is inadequate.
The following tasks have been a5s:gned Ukrainian M1S for the Fifth Five-
Year Plan: to increase tractor work norms 50 percent and to lower the cost of
tractor work 25 percent; to adopt the hourly work graph in every MI'S; to improve
the utilization of tractors, especially diesel tractors; to reduce fuel consump-
tion, thh use of spare parts, and monetary expenditures; to mechanize further
work in animal husbandry, olericulture, and pomiculture; to improve transport)
loading, and unloading of agricultural crops; to improve irrigation and drainage
work; to reise crop yields and animal productivity; and to improve cadres at all
levels.
During the last 3 years (1949 - 1951), 1,211 rural electric power stations
have been put in operation. Construction of GSS and TES operating on local
fuels must be speeded up.
Sovkhozes must increase the porportion cf "heat, fine and semi-fine wool,
and meat that they market; mechanization must be inrr~A-A, ^.? euscs
lowar.A
More i;ork must be done on construction of bu'_1dings and installations used
both in production and for residential and cultural purposes in MPS, kolkhozes,
and sovkhozes. The process of creating vegetable -potato gardens and animal hus-
bandry bases arouu,t large towns and industrial enterprises nuct also be speeded
Land Improvement
2'wenty of the last GO years in the Ukraine have, been dry years. Several
irrigation projects have been begun 1.n the republic in recent years. The first
section of the Kamenakil Irrigation System was finished this year. Construction
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*ork on the Verkhne-Inguletskiy Irrigation System is now under way, and next
year construction will begin on the Nizhne-Inguletskiy Irrigation System, which
must be completed by the end of the Fifth Five-Year Plan. For proper utiliza-
tion of irrigated land in the vicinity of -the Kakhovka GES and the S"i'th Ukrain-
ian Canal, it will be necessary to instruct tens of thousands of people in the
principles of conducting agriculture on irrigated land.
The Poles ye region makes up about one fifth of the entire territory of the
Ukraine, and the further development of agriculture in this region is very im-
portant. Many kolkhozes of the Poles `ye region obtain low crop and animal prod-
uct yields due to the low level of agricultural tecrniques here. The leaders
of some kolkhozes and rayons try to explain this state of affairs by citing the
poor quality of the soil in the Poles'ye region. The soil is indeed poor, but
this difficulty can be overcome by the application of better agricultural tech-
niques such as use of peat and manure for fertilizer, liming the soil, deep
plowing, and cultivation of lupine. Land improvement work such as swamp drainage
is planned in the Poles'ye region during the Fifth Five-Year Plan.
Collectivization and Consolidation of Kolkhozes
Full collectivization in the western ublasts will liquidate the kulaks and
wipe out the last vestiges of Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism. Kolkhoz production
in the Carpathian mountains area of the republic must be increased, particularly
production of animal products and sheep raising.
In 1950, before the consolidation drive, there were 33,653 kolkhozes in the
republic. Now there are 16,015. During the past 3 years (1949 - 1951), kolkhoz
indivisible funds have increased, by 4 billion rubles, or 48 percent as compared
with 1940. The monetary income of the kolkhozes has increased by 4.2 billion
rubles during these same 3 years, and exceeds the prewar level by 76 percent.
Almost, 5,000 kolkhozes in the republic do not have orchards, berry patches,
or vineyards, 2,130 kolkhozes do not have beehives, and almost half of all re-
public kolkhozes do not have ponds or water reservoirs .:nd therefore do not en-
gage in pisciculture.
Many kolkhozes and whole rayons consistently report low crop yields and
poor animal productivity norms, particularly those in Chernigovskaya, Zhitomir-
skaya, Sumskaya, Volynskaya, and L'vovskaya oblasts. During the Fifth Five-Year
Plan, kolkhoz labor productivity must rise together with agricultural production
to the extent that the monetary income of kolkhoz workers will increase at least
40 percent.
Violations of the Kolkhoz Charter
Violations of the Kolkhoz Charter have been particularly numerous in Ternopol'
skaya Oblast. Profatilov, secretary of the Oblast Committee, has done nothing
to stop these violations, and !-as himself violated the charter. During construc-
tion work on the House of Popular Creativeness in the rite .,r it oruered
that work }lA ,..^fc :,, av3iznoz workers, that koLkhoz transport facilities be
used, and that the costs of such participation be borne by the kolkhozes. Pro-
fatilov was severely punished by the party. Violations of the Kolkhoz Charter
have likewise occured in several rayons of Odesskaya, Poltavskaya, L'vovskaya,
and Stanislavskaya oblasto. It is the duty of party and soviet organs to guaran-
tee observancc of the democratic bases of kolkhoz administration, to insure re-
gular convocation of the kolkhoz assembly, and to provide for reports by the
chairman to the kolkhoz assembly.
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. The further development of agriculture in the republic hinges on the
liquidation of serious shortcomings in the Ministry of Agriculture Ukrainian
SSR and. in th,: Ministry of Cotton Growing Ukrainian SSR. Their local organs
spend little effort on basic agricultural problems, and often the central organs
are not aware, of actual conditions in various localities. There are 64,000
agronomists, zootechnicians, and other agricultural specialists in the republic.
However, the two ministries do not work for the improvement of the qualifications
of those cadre.a or for the elaboration of their role and authority in the kolkhozes.
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