How did Khrushchev’s view on agriculture differ from Stalin’s?
Khrushchev recognised the agricultural system was inefficient. He wanted to increase productivity and ensure a better standard of living for agricultural workers.
What did Khrushchev do to improve agriculture?
Put investment into resources, introduced the virgin lands scheme and corn campaign while improving incentives.
How did Khrushchev improve investment in resources for agriculture?
- Put more investment into fertilisers - 40% rise in production.
- Built factories to produce tractors - 30% rise in accessibility of tractors.
How did Khrushchev improve incentives?
- Raised prices of farm goods so collective farms were able to earn more from their produce.
- Lowered farming targets, anything above targets came as a profit for farm.
- Anything over the quota was given a higher price - 250% rise in farm incomes.
What was the Corn Campaign?
Khrushchev encouraged farmers to focus on growing maize to feed the animals, it would boost both crop growth and the production of meat.
What was the Virgin Land Scheme?
Khrushchev encouraged the farming of new land.
To farm new land, the number of farmers had to increase - by 1964 the number had risen from 2.9 million workers to 8.9 million.
Volunteers from Komsomol were sent to work on previously unfarmed lands.
What were the successes of agriculture under Khrushchev?
- Greater availability of food in Soviet shops
- Better standard of living for Soviet citizens
- Greater production: 400% rise in farmers income.
- Allowed Khrushchev to consolidate his power in 1956, introduced new commitments.
- Increased farmed land, 18.2 million hectares i 1953 to 97.4 million in 1964.
- Agricultural production increased by 35.3%
What were the failures of agriculture under Khrushchev?
- The Virgin Land Scheme was expensive as Kazakhstan was naturally dry and needed expensive irrigation system which were labour intensive.
- Only 5% of the American population worked on farms while 44-54% op the Soviet population worked of farms and America still produced twice as much food.
- The production rates were nothing compared to Khrushchev’s high targets which made the initial success look bad.
When was the Seven Year Plan? What were it’s aims?
1959-65
- To reduce military spending:
Freeing up money would improve living standards.
- Focus on Light Industry (consumer goods):
Wanted to catch up with the West and improve standard of living.
- Move away from heavy industry:
Development was complete - the focus was no longer necessary.
- Increase chemical production:
Would improve agriculture.
What were the failures of the Seven Year Plan?
- Poor leadership:
Continual economic re-organisation was counter-productive and caused lots of confusion.
‘three plans a year’ - Economy set up by Stalin:
Poor quality, aims to meet quantities and not effective in creating consumer goods. - The Cold War:
Khrushchev was forced to increases the military spending to keep up with the US as tensions rose again. - Setting targets too high:
Fertiliser production was 3.5 million tons short of the target.
What were the successes of the Seven Year Plan?
- Synthetic production increased by 241,000 tons.
- In Jan 1959, 60% increase in consumer goods
- Fertiliser/chemical production grew by 19 million tons.
