103

p Comrades! As you know, the problems of agriculture are highlighted in the decisions of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU. The Party proceeds from the fact that agriculture is an extensive, vitally important branch of the national economy. As Lenin taught, without a firm agricultural basis, "no economic construction whatever is possible".

p Bearing in mind the enormous importance of this branch of the national economy, the Political Bureau of the CC of the CPSU is submitting to this plenary meeting the question of the progress made in implementing the decisions of the 23rd Congress of the CPSU and of the March and May plenary meetings of the CC of the CPSU on agriculture. The Political Bureau also deems it necessary to examine certain problems concerning the further development of the country’s agriculture.

p Permit me first of all to dwell on how the Party’s decisions and plans in the field of agriculture are being 104 implemented, on what most substantial changes have taken place in the development of this branch recently.

p The decisions of the 23rd Congress and the plenary meetings of the CC of the CPSU on agricultural questions are known to have received warm approval and support from the entire Party and the people. The Party’s policy in the countryside meets with deep understanding on the part of the rural toilers, and also of the working class, the Soviet intelligentsia, all the working people of our country. It has enabled the collective and state farms to give wider play to their possibilities as socialist enterprises, has freed the initiative of farms, land agencies, Soviet and Party organisations, and has helped strengthen the socialist principle of incentives for farms and rural workers in developing social production. The decisions of the 23rd Congress and the plenary meetings of the CC of the CPSU have ensured more favourable conditions for carrying out the tasks of communist construction.

p Two years and a half have elapsed since the Party’s 23rd Congress, and more than three years and a half since the March Plenary Meeting of the CC. That is not a long time, but the results achieved warrant the conclusion that the measures worked out by the Party in the field of agriculture have played a positive role in raising this branch of the economy and further consolidating the economic and political might of our socialist state, in still further strengthening the alliance of the working class and the collectivefarm peasantry. In the intense efforts to advance agriculture, the enhanced leading role of the Communist Party in the life of our socialist society has been still more strikingly revealed.

p In giving practical effect to the decisions of the 23rd Congress and the plenary meetings of the CC of the CPSU, the Political Bureau and the Council of Ministers of the USSR took concrete measures for strengthening the material and technical base of agriculture and enhancing the role of economic incentives in raising collective- and statefarm production.

p In three years (1965-67) the state invested in agriculture for the building of farm structures and the acquisition of equipment over 5,000 million rubles more than in the preceding three-year period. The supply of tractors for agriculture rose last year to 287,000 (compared with 223,000 in 105 1964), of which ploughing tractors rose from 65,000 to 107,000; the number of grain-harvesting combines rose from 79,000 to 96,000; lorries increased from 85,000 to 134,000; the supply of mineral fertilisers increased from 22 to 34 million tons. The power available per worker in agriculture rose over the three years by 22 per cent.

p The collective and state farms have more machines for such labour-consuming processes as the harvesting of cotton, sugar beet and potatoes, as well as for mechanising the livestock farms. At harvesting time, the collective and state farms are given a greater measure of assistance in motor transport and machine operators. Government allocations for land improvement have increased.

p Important social measures have been carried out in the countryside. As you know, a monthly guaranteed wage has been introduced in the collective farms, and pension provisions for collective farmers and state-farm workers have been improved.

p All these and many other measures tended to increase agricultural production, advanced its most important branches—field crop and animal husbandry—and strengthened the collective and state farms economically. The annual gross production of agriculture in the 1965-67 period averaged 75,000 million rubles, which was 10,000 million rubles, or 15 per cent, more than the annual average for the preceding three-year period. During 1962 to 1964 the increase was only three per cent. Per capita production of agricultural produce rose by 11 per cent over the past three years. That is a good showing.

p All the Union republics achieved an increase in gross output, as can be seen from the following figures given by the Central Statistical Board of the USSR. (See the table at top of page 106.)

At the Party Congress, as at the CC plenary meetings, attention was invariably given to the fact that the central problem in agriculture is to raise harvest yields. In recent years the standard of cultivation has been raised, proper crop rotation has been introduced, and field work is carried out in better time. Spring crops are now as a rule sown on autumn ploughed areas, and in the eastern regions on fallow soil. High-yielding varieties are being more widely introduced, and better weed- and pest-control methods are being used. All this made for an increase in yields and gross 106 Average annual gross agricultural output, 1965-67 as a percentage of 1962-64 Average annual gross agricultural output, 1962-64 as a percentage of )959-(i) USSR 115 103 RSFSR 113 104 Ukrainian SSR 116 101 Byelorussian SSR Uzbek SSR 131 118 99 107 Kazakh SSR 108 109 Georgian SSR Azerbaijan SSH Lithuanian SSR 11!) 120 129 104 96 101 Moldavian SSR 122 117 Latvian SSR 120 89 Kirghiz SSR Tajik SSR Armenian SSR 119 121 118 119 114 98 Turkmen SSR 130 106 Estonian SSR 118 97 harvests for most agricultural crops. Here are some relevant figures:

Annual average 1905-67 Annual average 1962-64 yield (centners per hectare) gross harvest (mln. tons) yield (centners per hectare) gross harvest (mln. tons) Grain 11.8 147 10.2 133 including wheat 11.5 79 9.7 65 Sugar beet Raw cotton 204 24 78 5.9 157 20.2 58 4 9 Sunflower seed 12.4 6.1 11.2 5 Potatoes 108 91 91 78 Vegetables 130 18.7 114 16.9 107

p The growth achieved in field-crop produce made it possible to increase state purchases. Over the last four years (1965-68) in comparison with the preceding four years purchases of wheat increased on an annual average by 8.8 million tons, and of groats by 676,000 tons. As for other crops, their harvest and purchase in the current year are not yet over and therefore I shall quote figures for three years (1965-67). The average annual purchase of potatoes increased over that period by 2 millions tons, of vegetables by 1.7 million tons, of fruit by 1.4 million tons, of raw cotton by nearly one million tons, of sunflower seed by more than one million tons, and of sugar beet by 19 million tons.

p As you know, the 23rd Congress and the May Plenary Meeting of the CC of the Party posed great tasks for extensive land improvement, which is a very important factor in raising yields and increasing the gross harvest of agricultural crops. During 1966 and 1967 more than two million hectares of newly irrigated or drained lands were brought under cultivation. Work was carried out on large areas to bring the soil into good condition and to fight erosion by water and winds.

p In the south of the Russian Federation and in the Ukraine, the construction of big irrigation works has begun. They include the Kakhovka irrigation system and the Krasnodar storage lake, on the basis of which the irrigation mainly of grain crops will be organised over large areas.

p Considerable work has been done in the construction of big engineering rice systems. After the March Plenary Meeting, more than 160,000 hectares of ricefields were put into service. The average rice yield in our country last year reached the figure of 32 centners per hectare. Although, of course, that is still a low yield for rice. Rice production in our country in that period nearly doubled and reached 895,000 tons. This year the rice-growing area was over 300,000 hectares, and gross production will top the million ton figure. This is the result of great work done by our reclamation specialists, collective farmers and state-farm workers. We must not fail to mention that great help was given by soldiers of the Soviet Army. Every year, engineer battalions take an active part in the construction of rice systems.

p We have the possibility in the remaining years of the five-year period to extend the rice-growing area still more 108 and to solve in the main the problem that has been posed of satisfying the country’s rice requirements by our own production.

p Large-scale irrigation works are being carried out in the country’s cotton-growing regions. Large expanses are being reclaimed in the Hungry Steppe and in the Kara-Kum Canal zone. Installations are being erected to bring water to the Karshi Steppe. Existing irrigation systems are being reconstructed.

p Land improvement work is going on also in the extensive non-chernozem zone. In the northwest and central regions of the Russian Federation, in the Baltic Republics, Byelorussia and Ukraine Polesiye, water-logged areas are being drained, acid soils are being limed, lands are being cleared of shrubs and stones. In these districts, particularly in the Baltic region, wider use is being made of sub-drainage, as being the most progressive method for draining the soil. A great role in these works is played by the reclamation servicing stations and various other specialised organisations.

p The production basis of water management construction is being strengthened, new designing institutes are being set up and the training of personnel is being extended. Hydrotechnicians and reclamation specialists are now being trained in 30 higher educational establishments and 90 specialised secondary schools. Young people are showing a keen preference for educational establishments where personnel is trained for such attractive careers. The intake in these specialities has increased over three years in the higher educational establishments by 50 per cent and in the specialised secondary schools by 100 per cent. Qualified workers are being trained in 240 industrial trade schools.

p Land reclamation has become a very important element in the work of developing our country’s agriculture.

p Another branch of agriculture that has become more stable in its development is livestock farming. The past three years have seen a steady increase in the production of livestock produce. In comparison with the three-year period preceding the March Plenary Meeting, the average annual production of meat (slaughter weight) increased by 1,400,000 tons, that of milk by 13,400,000 tons, of eggs by 3,200 million pieces, and of wool by 12,000 tons. Purchase supplies of these products also increased: livestock and 109 poultry by 19 per cent, milk by 36 per cent, eggs by 37 per cent, wool by 4.6 per cent.

p Stock-farming has become more productive. The milk yield per cow on collective and state farms rose last year by 26 per cent in comparison with 1964, the hen’s egg production also by 26 per cent, and the wool clip per sheep by 20 per cent.

p There was a simultaneous increase in the number of livestock and poultry. The cattle population rose by 10 million head, including that of cows by 2.8 million. The number of sheep and goats increased by 13,300,000, that of poultry by 72 million. Unfortunately there was a drop in the number of pigs. Yet pig-breeding, being the most fast-growing of animal husbandry, has always played and will continue to play a great part in providing our country with meat and fats. We must pay more attention to pigbreeding.

p Poultry farming on an industrial basis is a branch of growing importance. Our country now has 356 poultry factories, including 111 built in the last three years. Together with the state poultry farms they now account for 41 per cent of the country’s entire egg supply. Poultry farming on an industrial basis is progressive and it must be widely developed.

p The preliminary results of the work done by the collective and state farms this year provide grounds for affirming that the workers of agriculture have achieved new successes. The gross grain harvest will be over 165 million tons and state purchases over 68 million tons (4,200 million poods). As you know, a stable plan of corn purchases for the current fiveyear period was set at 3,400 million poods a year.

p A great contribution has been made this year by the collective and state farms of the Russian Federation, which sold the state more than 46 million tons (over 2,800 million poods) of grain. This is the first time such a quantity of grain has been procured in the republic. I wish especially to stress the big successes of the grain-growers of Orenburg Region, who this year delivered to the state 360 million poods of grain. Permit me to congratulate the working people of that region on the high award they have received. Other big successes of the grain-growers to be noted are those of Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk territories, of the Bashkir and Tatar Autonomous Republics, of Kuibyshev, Kurgan, 110 Chelyabinsk, Saratov, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Penza, Kursk and Tyumen regions, and of a number of other autonomous republics, territories and regions.

p More than 11 million tons of grain have been stored in the state granaries by the Kazakhstan grain-growers. A great contribution was made to this by Ural, Kustanai, North Kazakhstan, Aktyubinsk, Jambul and Chimkent regions.

p A good harvest has been obtained in cotton, sugar beet, sunflower seed, potatoes and other crops. The annual plan for state purchases of meat, milk, eggs and wool has already been fulfilled. Purchases of these products are higher than last year.

p As a result of the growth of agricultural production, the country’s marketable resources have increased and definite reserves have been created. All this has given us a normal foodstuffs budget and enabled us to satisfy more fully the requirements of the population. According to figures supplied by the Central Statistical Board of the USSR and the Ministry of Trade of the USSR, consumption of meat per head of the population last year was 21 per cent higher than in 1964, that of milk and dairy products 15 per cent higher, and that of eggs 22 per cent. At the same time, bread consumption in our country decreased by 6 per cent, although the assortment of bread and loaves is widening everywhere. This is a positive fact. It testifies that the Soviet people’s food is becoming more varied and of higher quality.

p Over these years the collective farms have grown economically stronger. In 1967 their incomes were 24 per cent higher than in 1964. There has been an appreciable rise in the wages of the collective farmers. Things have improved in the state farms too. In 1966 and 1967 the state farms in the country as a whole operated without loss, whereas in the recent past their losses were not inconsiderable.

p The March Plenary Meeting of the CG of the CPSU recognised the necessity for the state farms to go over to a full profit and loss basis. Over 800 state farms have now gone over to new conditions of planning and economic incentives. The results of their work confirm that this measure is a progressive one. Now that a certain experience has been acquired, it is necessary to ensure in the coming years the full transition of all state farms to profit and loss basis.

111

p Such, comrades, are the main results of development in agriculture over the period which followed the 23rd Congress and the March Plenary Meeting of the CC of the CPSU. The successes achieved both in arable fanning and in animal husbandry were a result of the great political and organisational work carried out by the whole Party, by the administrative and land agencies, a result of the selfless labour of the collective farmers, state-farm workers, the vast army of machine operators and specialists, the scientists and also the industrial workers. One cannot, at a plenary meeting of the CC, pass over in silence the great assistance to the village in bringing in the harvest and in construction given by our young people, especially the students of higher and secondary educational establishments, general educational and vocational schools. This has become a good tradition with us, and it is an excellent school for cultivating work habits and a knowledge of life.

p The improvements in our agriculture are obvious to all. Nevertheless it would not be right to take a one-sided, uncritical approach in assessing the situation in agriculture, to note only the successes and not to see the shortcomings and the untapped resources. This could hold up progress and cause great harm. Yet there are no few shortcomings and unsolved problems in our practical work aimed at boosting agricultural production.

p If we analyse the way the targets for agriculture in the current five-year-plan period are being carried out, we must note that, as far as the volume of output for a number of products and the productivity of labour are concerned, we have not yet attained the level provided for in the Directives of the 23rd Party Congress for the five-year-plan period.

p For this reason, in the remaining years of the five-year period we must ensure a steep rise in the growth rates of gross agricultural production. On this, comrades, depends to a considerable extent the growth of our country’s national income, and also implementation of the measures for raising the people’s living standard.

p Some regions, territories, and republics still have low growth rates in the output of agricultural products. Facts show that by no means all collective and state farms are skilful in management. Special mention must be made of the poor work done by a number of collective and state farms to raise yields of grain and other crops. There are 112 still no few farms with low yields of grain crops, even in regions, territories and republics where climatic conditions are most favourable, for instance Voronezh, Orel, Ryazan, and Perm regions, the Mordovian Autonomous SSR, and a number of others. There are such farms also in the Ukrainian, Byelorussian and other republics. The land agencies do not give sufficient help to these collective and state farms in implementing measures to raise yields.

p As is said, we have achieved a definite improvement in introducing high-yield varieties of grain, industrial and other crops. Nevertheless, for this year’s crop, according to the Central Statistical Board of the USSR, more than 12 million hectares of grain were sown with uncertified and unzoned seed. This is the case in Altai Territory, some regions of Kazakhstan, in Rostov, Omsk, Novosibirsk and a number of other regions. If we add that substandard seed is used in many farms, we can have some idea of how much we lose through neglect of this most important factor in raising yields.

p Many collective and state farms underestimate the enormous importance of local fertilisers. This applies in particular to farms in the Udmurt Autonomous SSR, Pskov, Kaluga, Kirov and a number of other regions. In recent years there has been no increase in the use of organic fertilisers in many farms in these regions. Attention must be paid to this serious shortcoming and it must be corrected.

p A good deal of produce is still being lost in our country because poor action is taken against weeds, pests and diseases of plants and animals.

p You will remember that at the March Plenary Meeting of the CC a number of regions and republics were criticised for lagging seriously behind in buckwheat and millet production. Many have drawn the right conclusions from the criticism and achieved an increase in the gross harvest of groats crops. Buckwheat production, for instance, increased during these years by 130 per cent in the Tatar Autonomous SSR, and by 80 per cent in the Bashkir Autonomous SSR. The gross yield of buckwheat in the country as a whole increased by almost 50 per cent. However, the problem of groats crops is still not fully solved. These crops are still receiving poor attention in the Kazakh and the Byelorussian SSR, Volgograd, Odessa and some other regions. They are not fulfilling the groats purchasing plans. The Byelorussian 113 SSR, for instance, instead of 50,000 tons of buckwheat according to the plan, delivers no more than 18,000 tons a year.

p From year to year the supply of collective and state farms with agricultural machines is increasing. This plays a great role in our general measures for raising yields of agricultural crops. There are numerous examples of machinery being put to good use, in particular in the Ukrainian SSR, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk territories, Orenburg and other regions. At the same time it must be noted that poor use is still being made of tractors, combines and other machines in a number of collective and state farms. The daily output per tractor and combine is rising slowly in our country, and in places it is even dropping. There are many causes of this, but, apparently, it is not a question of going into all the “details” at the plenary meeting of the CC, although these play a considerable role. The agricultural agencies must devote daily attention to this matter and must be made more strictly to answer for poor use of machines. The chief thing is to give more attention to personnel, to the training and proper use of machine operators. This has always had a favourable effect on the work of machines, on their productive utilisation.

p One cannot overlook the fact that the number of tractors, combines and other machines written off in collective and state farms has considerably increased in recent years. Where formerly there was a very strict clamp down on the business of writing off machines, which was incorrect, too much leeway on this question will do no good either. Equipment may only be written off when its original value is fully depreciated. This matter will hardly be improved by directives alone. Here, too, the key factor is that of personnel. Skilled, experienced machine-operating staffs can help solve the problem. Perhaps some extra inducements should be introduced for tractor drivers and combine operators who take good care of machines and make highly efficient use of them for the whole depreciation period. If such an arrangement is made, the state will probably only stand to win. In general, the Ministry of Agriculture, Soyuzselkhoztekhnika, the State Planning Committee, the Ministry of Finance and other bodies should study this question jointly with the republics and submit their proposals.

114

p Despite certain improvements in stock-farming, of which I have already spoken, there are serious shortcomings in the development of this branch. They are, first of all, low productivity of animals in many collective and state farms. A large number of mixed-breed animals and poultry are kept in the farms, poor use is made of the possibilities for developing cattle- and sheep-breeding for meat, especially in the steppe regions, although there has already been talk of this at our plenary meetings. In the non-chernozem zone of the Russian Federation, in districts of the Baltic Republics and Byelorussia, unwarranted reduction of the sheep population is still taking place. Poultry production is developing slowly. Livestock production costs are still too high. This branch is still giving little return in many farms. On the other hand there are no few examples in each republic and region of animal farms yielding fairly high incomes.

p All this indicates that we still do not pay sufficient attention to questions of animal husbandry, especially the economic aspect of its development. Serious additional measures must be taken to eliminate completely the shortcomings that still exist in animal husbandry. The Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR jointly with the republics, and also scientists, economists and practical experts in animal husbandry should work out concrete proposals in that direction.

p We note with satisfaction that the incomes of the collective farms have increased considerably in recent years. But attention should be paid to the proper distribution of these incomes. Some collective farms do not give sufficient care to the growth of social production and reduce their contributions to the indivisible funds. Large sums are spent on maintaining administrative and managerial staffs, and some of the personnel are overpaid. One can hardly be expected to tolerate such things, to be indifferent to whether the incomes go to expanding production or only for purposes of consumption.

p There are no few other shortcomings in the work of collective and state farms. It is difficult, and apparently unnecessary, at the plenary meeting of the CC to list all these shortcomings. As a rule, many of them are due to poor work and state discipline in the farms. The Central Committees of the Communist Parties and the Councils of 115 Ministers of the republics, the territory and regional Party committees, the administrative and land agencies must carefully probe the matter to find out what is preventing some collective and state farms from running their business properly and to help them in speedily eliminating existing shortcomings.

p In the first place, of course, this is the duty of the Ministry of Agriculture of the USSR, Soyuzselkhoztekhnika, and their local agencies. Not infrequently they fail to play an organising role and to display persistence in making fuller use of the reserves and potentialities of production in the collective and state farms, and they are slow in settling many important questions concerning the development of arable and stock farming. The responsibility of these agencies for the state of affairs in agriculture must be considerably increased. The leading Party and administrative bodies should be more demanding towards the land agencies.

p Comrades! Growth rates in agricultural production are largely determined by the extent of capital investments and the degree to which the farms are provided with materials and equipment. As has already been pointed out, capital investments in agriculture have been increased in recent years. However, we are not carrying out the full volume of investments envisaged by the March Plenary Meeting and the Directives of the 23rd Congress.

p In order to ensure the rates of development in agriculture outlined for the five-year period, the state centralised capital investments in production development and for the acquisition of equipment during 1966 to 1970 were fixed at 41,000 million rubles. For the first three years capital investments were set at 21,200 million rubles. Actually they will amount to 17,300 million rubles, or almost 4,000 million less. Investments have dropped also in the mineral fertiliser and agricultural machine industries. As a result, agriculture during 1966-68 received fewer tractors, lorries and agricultural machines and less mineral fertilisers than it should have received.

p It must be said frankly that here, in addition to other causes, there were shortcomings in planning and poor work on the part of some industrial ministries fulfilling the targets set by the 23rd Congress and the plenary meetings of the CC of the CPSU in respect of supplying agriculture with 116 materials and equipment. Not infrequently the planning agencies, encountering difficulties in procuring investments, seek a way of overcoming them at the expense of funds assigned to agriculture. There have also been cases when the material and technical resources earmarked for agriculture are converted to other uses.

p In the course of fulfilling the plan in the remaining years of the five-year plan, we must find resources for meeting the targets set by the 23rd Congress and the plenary meetings of the CC of the GPSU. Considerable work in this respect will have to be done by the State Planning Committee, the State Committee for Material and Technical Supply and the ministries and departments called upon to provide agriculture with material and technical resources.

p At the plenary meeting of the CC we cannot but mention also instances of a wrong attitude on the part of those in charge of certain local Party and administrative bodies in regard to the utilisation of funds earmarked for agriculture. When drafting plans the comrades rightly ask for increased assignments for agriculture, and afterwards, instead of seeing that the funds assigned are correctly utilised precisely in agriculture, some withdraw them from that branch.

p In Azerbaijan, for instance, out of the sums assigned for agriculture in 1967, 3,100,000 rubles were diverted for the construction of an underground railway and dwelling houses in Baku. In Moldavia, too, an attempt was made to divert 2,900,000 rubles out of the funds allocated to agriculture for building a railway, giving as a reason, by the way, that the railway would run through a rural area. A very dubious argument! There have been instances of funds being diverted from agriculture to other uses also in the Ukrainian and the Latvian SSR and in the Russian Federation. This practice must be abandoned and a more rigid control of it must be enforced.

The third year of the five-year plan, comrades, is drawing to an end, and we must devote maximum energy to ensuring high growth rates in agricultural production in the remaining two years. That is now the most important task of all those who are working in agriculture and those working in industry, fulfilling orders for the countryside.