Russian leaders have sought to put the theory of Communism into actual practice in the farming practices of the country. What has been accomplished? This study has been undertaken with this question in mind.

Thesis (doctor agriculturarum)--Martin-Luther-Universität, Halle-Wittenberg, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [187]-200). Also available via the World Wide Web.

1940 m. birželio 14 d. Sovietų Sąjungai jėga užėmus Lietuvą, jau pirmaisiais okupacijos mėnesiais visoje šalyje buvo sistemingai pradėtas diegti sovietinio žemės ūkio mechanizmas. Kaimo sovietizacijos pagrindiniu tikslu tapo privatinės nuosavybės, vienkiemių sunaikinimas, žemės ūkio kolektyvizacijos įgyvendinimas. Tačiau šis procesas buvo sustabdytas, prasidėjus karui tarp SSRS ir Trečiojo Reicho. 1944-1947 m. Lietuvoje, prieš prasidedant kolektyvinių ūkių steigimui, vykdyta agrarinė žemės reforma. Kolūkių kūrimo procesas krašte atnaujintas 1947 m.. Po dviejų metų praktiškai vos ne kiekviename kaime steigtas kolektyvinis ūkis. Dar nepasibaigus kolektyvizacijai, 1950 m. priimtas nutarimas stambinti kolūkius. Apylinkių bei kaimų smulkūs kolektyviniai ūkiai jungėsi į stambesnius. Pakruojo valsčiuje kolektyvinių ūkių steigimo procesas prasidėjo 1948 m. pavasarį, kada Pakruojo apylinkėje, Sigutėnų kaime pradėjo veiklą kolūkis „Aušra“ ir Akmenėlių apylinkėje, Mažeikonių kaime kolūkis „Raudonoji žvaigždė“. 1948 m. Pakruojo valsčiuje įsteigti tik keturi kolūkiai. 1949 m., masinės kolektyvizacijos metu, papildomai susikūrė 32 kolūkiai. 1950 m. birželio 20 d., po teritorinės – administraciniams reformos, Pakruojo valsčius tapo rajonu. Po reformos pastarajam priskirti (Joniškio, Radviliškio, Šiaulių apskričių) kolūkiai. Tokiomis aplinkybėmis Pakruojo rajone 1950 m. veikė 89 kolūkiai. Tuo pat metu, kaip ir visoje šalyje, taip ir Pakruojo rajone pradėti stambinti kolektyviniai ūkiai. 1956... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / After the Soviet Union forcibly annexed Lithuania on June 14, 1940, already in the first months of occupation the new Soviet system of agriculture was started to be systematically implemented in the whole country. The goal of sovietization campaign in Lithuanian villages was the destruction of private property and homesteads and the implementation of collectivization of agriculture. However, this process was interrupted when the war between the Soviet Union and the Third Reich broke out. In the years 1944-1947 before the beginning of collectivization, the agrarian land reform was carried out in Lithuania. The creation of collective farms was resumed in 1947. After two years in practically every village there was a collective farm. Before the collectivization was even completed, in 1950 there was a decision to increase the size of collective farms by merging smaller farms into bigger ones. In the Pakruojis county, the process of collective farm creation was started in the spring of 1948, when in the village of Sigutėnai the first collective farm “Aušra“ („Dawn“) was created and in the village of Mažeikoniai – the collective farm by the name of „Raudonoji žvaigždė“ („The Red tar“) started to operate. In 1948 only four collective farms have been founded in Pakruojis county. In 1949 during the mass collectivization campaign, 32 collective farms were founded. On June 20 after the territorial-administrative reform the Pakruojis county became Pakruojis district. After the reform... [to full text]

The aim of this thesis is to introduce hops harvest phenomena as a special kind of agriculture aid in socialist Czechoslovakia. The aid consisted of secondary school students in the 1960s. The thesis describes organization of hops harvest, process of harvesting work and after-work activities of temporary staff. This thesis contains occurrences of August 1968 in Czechoslovakia. The harvesting work was complicated by raid of Soviet Army in this year.

This thesis focuses on the collectivization of Czechoslovakian countryside from 1949-1960. The current knowledge of agricultural policy of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia has been extended with the findings from a former Prague Region, present-day Central-bohemian Region. The first part consists of the analysis of the term collectivization in the international context, where a particular attention is paid to the process of collectivization in the Soviet Union. The author follows two main lines of the collectivization in the Czech environment. The former is the establishment of collective farms which formed the main pillar of the countryside socialization, the latter concentrates on the persecution of those who resisted the socialization, i.e. private landowners, known as kulaks. Part of the thesis deals with the agitation which accompanied the creation and running of the collective farms. Last but not least, the thesis includes the reflection of the fight against the kulaks on the pages of the then agricultural press - regional as well as nationwide.

Collective smallholder farming has been widely promoted as a vehicle for smallholder agricultural development in South Africa. As a result, agricultural co-operative registrations in South Africa are increasing. However, research suggests that South African co-operatives have generally not been effective, successful and functional. This study investigated the elements constituting an effective and functional primary agricultural co-operative among three smallholder agricultural co-operatives. It is expected that identification of these elements may enable institutions that offer support to co-operatives make better decisions to improve smallholder farming through primary agricultural co-operatives. Understanding of these elements could inform the efforts for members of co-operatives to achieve their set objectives and thus improve smallholder agriculture profitability. Three rural agricultural co-operatives in the Local Municipalities of Mooi-Mpofana, Mkhambathini, and Richmond in the Umgungundlovu District Municipality were purposively selected for the study because they were registered agricultural co-operatives. Inyamvubu Co-operative (from Mooi-Mpofana) was larger in membership, and well established compared to Umphumela (from Mkhambathini) and Ingwe-Mndeni (from Richmond). The sample included the purposively selected members and non-members of agricultural co-operatives to explore the differences and provide insight to the knowledge, opinions and perceptions of collective farming. A framework for analysing the effectiveness of agricultural co-operatives was developed using literature of objectives of agricultural co-operatives, success factors of smallholder agriculture and organisational effectiveness. This framework was used to analyse the effectiveness of the three co-operatives. Focus group discussions, Force Field Analysis and a survey were used for data collection. The study revealed that the three co-operatives have clearly defined group objectives aligned to those set out by the South African government. The main identified objectives of farming for the three co-operatives included; creation of employment and income generating activities, improving access to funding, strengthening market access and strengthening human and community development. Activities carried out by the three co-operatives took advantage of opportunities in the value chain including production, marketing, and transportation of produce to markets. However, farmers’ activities were hampered by a number of constraints. Production capability of the three co-operatives was hampered by resource constraints such as lack of access to land, machinery and equipment, finances and information relevant to production. Marketing, transportation and financial management capability of the three co-operatives was hampered by poor networking skills, poor infrastructure and low literacy levels. Management capability in the three co-operatives was challenged by complex group dynamics characterised by conflict of opinions and issues related to free-rider, horizon, and portfolio problems. Low capability of the three co-operatives to mobilise resources, use the limited resources available and low capability to manage institutional arrangements rendered the co-operatives ineffective in achieving their set objectives. The study recommends strategies for ensuring the effectiveness of agricultural co-operatives. These include strategies for addressing internal and external issues affecting the co-operatives. Direct intervention from government was recommended to improve production through revising land allocation systems, improving extension services and strict monitoring of effective use of government resources provided to farmers. Government should improve access and training to relevant technologies to improve the processing and packaging capabilities of co-operatives. Marketing and management activities should be supported through provision of improved infrastructure and relevant training. Farmers themselves should consider pooling resources for market rental of crop land, engage in value added activities, and develop informed marketing programs and cost-effective distributing mechanisms. Farmers should elect an effective board of members that will ensure enforcement of agreements and constitution. / Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

PhD (Agricultural Economics) / Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness / The high attrition rate of cooperatives in Limpopo Province is a great concern considering that cooperatives globally and in South Africa have been esteemed to play a role in rural development and poverty reduction. The problem of attrition is a threat in the development of our societies. In response to this, the study investigated the formation of cooperatives, influence of social, human capital and household characteristics. The study also assessed the differences that can be used to discriminate cooperatives earning monthly income and those without a monthly income. The main aim of the study was to develop a framework that could be used to create sustainable cooperatives in the future in Limpopo Province. The study was conducted in five districts of Limpopo Province namely: Sekhukhune, Waterberg, Mopani, Capricorn and Vhembe. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 146 cooperatives. Key respondents were cooperatives leaders. Focus group data from Mopani district cooperatives was used to provide a background to the researcher in the development of the framework. Focus group discussion information was only used by the researcher in order to understand the cooperative member’s views. Purposive sampling was used to select a sample of 146 cooperatives due to the availability and accessibility of the cooperatives. SPSS analytical tool was used to analyse the data. Models used in the study were Binary logistic, Multinomial and Discriminant analysis. The findings of the study revealed that household characteristics such as gender, member affiliation affected the formation of legitimate cooperatives. Social capital indicators such as access to information and benefits derived by relatives encouraged the need for funding. However human capital indicators were found not to influence the need for external funding. The study also discovered that there were major differences between cooperatives earning a monthly income and those without the income. There were various benefits derived from the cooperatives by members. The study concluded that for cooperatives to be sustainable, focus should be on human capital, extension services and improvement of the level of education. The notion is that an informed, trained and educated cooperative society is the future.

В работе студент предпринял попытку реконструировать принципы формирования и деятельности руководителей сельскохозяйственных предприятий на Среднем Урале в 1965–1982 гг. В процессе исследовательской деятельности Антон Олегович изучил государственную политику и ее результаты по подготовке управленческих кадров в СССР в 1965–1982 гг.; проанализировал численность и состав управленческих кадров в колхозах и совхозах Среднего Урала в обозначенный выше хронологический период; а также выявил основные принципы формирования и деятельности председателей колхозов и директоров совхозов Среднего Урала. Результаты проведенного анализа показали, что в 1965 – 1982 гг. на Среднем Урале сформировался в целом профессиональный управленческий состав из председателей колхозов и директоров совхозов. Абсолютное большинство руководителей хозяйств на начало 1982 г. имели высшее образование либо средне-специальное по той или иной сельскохозяйственной специальности. Выросло число назначаемых, а не избираемых руководителей хозяйств в связи с превращением системы сельского хозяйства из колхозно-совхозной в совхозно-колхозную. Тем не менее, принципы демократии в вопросах управления были частично сохранены. Анализ архивных материалов показал, что реальная ситуация на местах, в том числе и на Среднем Урале, заставляла корректировать реализацию поставленных задач по созданию высококвалифицированных кадров на селе, в том числе посредством постоянного повышения квалификации управленцев (к чему некоторые не были морально готовы), повышения контроля со стороны руководителей села, района, партийных органов. / In his work, the student attempted to reconstruct the principles of formation and activity of heads of agricultural enterprises in the Middle Urals in 1965-1982. In the course of his research activity, Anton Olegovich studied state policy and its results on the training of managerial personnel in the USSR in 1965-1982; analyzed the number and composition of managerial personnel in collective farms and state farms of the Middle Urals in the chronological period indicated above; and also identified the basic principles of formation and activity of chairmen of collective farms and directors of state farms of the Middle Urals. The results of the analysis showed that in 1965 – 1982, in the Middle Urals, a generally professional management team was formed from the chairmen of collective farms and directors of state farms. The absolute majority of farm managers at the beginning of 1982 had higher education or specialized secondary education in one or another agricultural specialty. The number of appointed rather than elected farm managers has increased due to the transformation of the agricultural system from a collective farm to a state farm. Nevertheless, the principles of democracy in matters of governance have been partially preserved. The analysis of archival materials showed that the real situation on the ground, including in the Middle Urals, forced to adjust the implementation of the tasks set to create highly qualified personnel in rural areas, including through constant professional development of managers (for which some were not morally ready), increased control by the leaders of the village, district, party bodies.