Agriculture in Russia

Agriculture in Russia is an important part of the economy of the Russian Federation. The agricultural sector survived a severe transition decline in the early 1990s as it struggled to transform from a planned economy to a market-oriented system. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, large collective and state farms – the backbone of Soviet agriculture – had to contend with the sudden loss of state-guaranteed marketing and supply channels and a changing legal environment that created pressure for reorganization and restructuring. In less than ten years, livestock inventories declined by half, pulling down demand for feed grains, and the area planted to grains dropped by 25%.

The use of mineral fertilizer and other purchased inputs plummeted, driving yields down. Most farms could no longer afford to purchase new machinery and other capital investments. Following a nearly ten-year period of decline, Russian agriculture has experienced gradual ongoing improvement. The 2014 devaluation of the rouble and imposition of sanctions spurred domestic production; in 2016, Russia exceeded Soviet Russia's grain production levels, and in that year became the world's largest exporter of wheat. In recent years, Russia once again emerged as a big agricultural power, despite also facing various challenges.

Geopolitical analyses of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as Siberia's arability increases. Managing migration flows, internal and international, is expected to be a central aspect of the process.

Production statistics overview In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products, production statistics in 2018 include the following:Russian Federation production in 2018, by FAO

+ Major crop production in Russia (recent most available statistics) Crop Production (tons) World rank Leading producers Wheat 72,100,000 3rd China, India Sugar beet 42,000,000 1st --- Potatoes 22,300,000 3rd China, India Barley 17,000,000 1st --- Sunflower seeds 12,700,000 2nd Ukraine Maize (corn) 11,400,000 13th Multiple countries Oats 4,700,000 1st --- Tomatoes 2,900,000 12th Multiple countries Cabbages 2,500,000 4th China, India, South Korea Dry peas 2,300,000 2nd Canada Rye 1,900,000 3rd Germany, Poland Rapeseed 1,900,000 10th Multiple countries Apples 1,800,000 8th Multiple countries Cucumbers 1,600,000 4th China, Turkey, Mexico Onions 1,600,000 9th Multiple countries Carrots 1,400,000 4th China, Uzbekistan, United States Pumpkins 1,100,000 3rd China, India Buckwheat 931,000 2nd China Flax 557,000 3rd Kazakhstan, Canada Chickpeas 620,000 4th India, Australia, Turkey Currants 398,000 1st --- Cherries 268,000 4th Multiple countries Lentils 194,000 8th Multiple countries Soy 4,000,000 ~10th Multiple countries Watermelons 1,900,000 ~8th Multiple countries Grapes 627,000 ~13th Multiple countries

Climate Russia experiences extreme temperatures in winter and summer, and summer precipitation is low. Many regions of Russia experience six months of snow cover each year and in these places the subsoil can often be frozen permanently. The most fertile regions are in the southern parts of the country between Kazakhstan and Ukraine called chernozem ("black earth") in Russian. Just over 7% of the country's total land is arable, 60% of which is used for cropland and the remainder for pasture.

Geopolitical analyses of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as Siberia's arability increases. Managing migration flows, internal and international, is expected to be a central aspect of the process.

Reduction of arable land The changes that began at the end of the 20th century greatly affected agriculture. Agricultural production has been sharply reduced; and there was a significant reduction in arable land in a number of regions.

Data on subjects of the Russian Federation: Arable land in the regions, thousands of hectaresNo data on Ingushetia (separately) for the time it was merged with Chechnya Federal subjects of Russia 1959 Areas of agricultural land and arable land (pages 500-503) Площади сельскохозяйственных угодий и пашни в обработке, находящиеся в пользовании сельскохозяйственных предприятий и хозяйств 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Decline from 1990 to 2015, times Tuva 328 282 194.2 44.2 38.4 27.8 27.2 10.37 Murmansk Oblast 6 24.8 16 14.9 12.1 7.8 7.1 7.7 Zabaykalsky Krai 1698 1542.9 746.8 339.6 278.8 217.2 208.2 7.41 Magadan Oblast 5 36.5 22.7 11.7 6.8 6.1 6.5 5.62 Buryatia 846 767.8 551.1 361.6 221.8 192.8 154 4.99 Astrakhan Oblast 169 324 218.5 96 70 75.5 76.7 4.22 Arkhangelsk Oblast 331 295.1 273.3 215.6 134.5 104.4 77 3.83 Smolensk Oblast 1570 1438.8 1107.1 807.7 547.4 455.8 400.2 3.60 Pskov Oblast 1034 874.7 695.7 575.6 365.3 275.5 245.3 3.57 Kostroma Oblast 771 661.7 576.7 467.2 328.8 207.1 192.0 3.45 Kamchatka Krai 15 64.9 54.8 32.6 18.8 22 20.8 3.12 Tver Oblast 369 1475.2 1223.7 905.1 688.9 633.1 534.4 2.76 Kalmykia 647 726.6 567.5 270.3 275.1 298.8 263.1 2.76 Novgorod Oblast 567 484.8 371.8 280.1 180.6 181.4 178.5 2.72 Kaluga Oblast 1044 918.9 754.3 535.1 370.7 302.1 338.4 2.72 Ivanovo Oblast 660 609.2 528.2 407.3 256.9 219.2 231.3 2.63 Republic of Karelia 67 82.8 77.3 66.5 46.9 38.4 32.5 2.55 Kirov Oblast 2810 2193.9 1838.1 1626.9 1207.9 853 862.8 2.54 Komi Republic 101 100.5 99.6 83.2 52.7 40.5 40.7 2.47 Perm Krai 2118 1850.3 1501.9 1289 999.5 795.2 757.2 2.44 Yaroslavl Oblast 848 768.9 671 570.6 442.3 337.3 315.0 2.44 Irkutsk Oblast 1636 1573.2 1398.4 1020.9 715.4 639 675.3 2.33 Vologda Oblast 906 815.1 757.3 702.3 541.6 451.8 372.4 2.19 Moscow Oblast 1249 1224.1 1096.4 977.9 699.4 550.7 579.1 2.11 Mari El 656 603 585.6 500.5 400.8 299.5 292.4 2.06 Ryazan Oblast 1938 1687 1407.3 994.2 808.2 771.1 858.8 1.96 Vladimir Oblast 688 643.6 553.4 485 409.1 331.2 329.2 1.96 Leningrad Oblast 357 436.4 402.7 386.7 293.3 250.5 229.9 1.90 Sakhalin Oblast 34 50 46.6 36.7 23.9 25.4 26.5 1.89 Kurgan Oblast 3026 2640.3 2094.8 1675.9 1203.7 1373.9 1393.4 1.89 Krasnoyarsk Krai 3927 2879.1 2507.6 1926.4 1608 1461.1 1538.1 1.87 Tula Oblast 1683 1448 1295.5 912.8 739.6 749.5 780.8 1.85 Tomsk Oblast 583 622.9 549.2 488.4 388.4 381.3 339.9 1.83 Nizhny Novgorod Oblast 2367 2055.5 1716.4 1494.6 1186.8 1165.1 1125.0 1.83 Primorsky Krai 626 741.6 564.5 448.1 340.1 314 413.7 1.79 Sverdlovsk Oblast 1521 1516.3 1334.1 1175.1 959.6 851.9 866.4 1.75 Penza Oblast 2630 2229.6 1945.3 1258.2 1169.1 1304.1 1304.1 1.71 Kaliningrad Oblast 369 416.3 349.6 262.1 217.9 148.1 245.5 1.70 Ulyanovsk Oblast 1869 1643.8 1567.4 1127.7 769.6 950.2 1010.2 1.63 Bryansk Oblast 1413 1292 1169.6 865.8 654.8 671.6 826.1 1.56 Volgograd Oblast 5303 4619.1 3992.1 2610.2 2979.3 2726.2 2988.0 1.55 Khabarovsk Krai 194 121.3 109.6 102.6 77.3 72.6 78.5 1.55 Saratov Oblast 6399 5564.5 4438.4 3955.7 3589.5 3604.6 3730.9 1.49 Tyumen Oblast 1775 1634.3 1296.8 1181.9 990 1091.2 1102.7 1.48 Kemerovo Oblast 1599 1447 1275.6 1141.6 1065.3 1037.1 971.7 1.49 Novosibirsk Oblast 4123 3442.9 3049.2 2718.8 2536.6 2326.2 2339.9 1.47 Chelyabinsk Oblast 3086 2694.3 2431.8 1994.7 1844.0 2074.4 1834.9 1.47 Bashkortostan 4886 4399.3 4245.8 3744.3 3048 3146.9 3060.6 1.44 Amur Oblast 1486 1623.5 1082.1 659.5 576.4 790.3 1165.1 1.39 Chuvashia 874 799.9 770.6 693.1 551.3 571.9 574.7 1.39 Udmurtia 1620 1400.8 1271.5 1152 1153.8 1067.2 1028.9 1.36 Karachay-Cherkessia - 192.3 155.2 142 117.6 121.9 141.9 1.36 Altai Republic - 146.5 132.1 106.6 103.4 103.3 108.3 1.35 Orenburg Oblast 6200 5569 4894.1 4454.1 3840.2 4051.4 4196.3 1.33 Samara Oblast 3166 2678.5 2414.8 1968.5 1874.2 1834 2016.7 1.33 Oryol Oblast 1768 1568.5 1369.5 1201.5 1079.9 1076.5 1212.6 1.29 Ingushetia - - 85.3 56.7 53.3 62.7 67.5 1.26 Dagestan 511 435.2 359.6 307.3 319.3 271 344.8 1.26 Omsk Oblast 4384 3745 3463.2 2964.8 2911.8 2797.5 3029.4 1.24 Altai Krai 7669 6380 5832.6 5344.9 5191.3 5149.3 5393.0 1.18 Rostov Oblast 5937 5224 4621.7 3858.1 4180.1 4351.4 4467.8 1.17 Kursk Oblast 2117 1855.4 1639.1 1363.4 1197.6 1355.3 1619.3 1.15 Voronezh Oblast 3311 2985.5 2725.3 2319.1 2147.9 2336.6 2590.5 1.15 Lipetsk Oblast 1766 1513 1382.9 1132.1 1050 1214.4 1324.1 1.14 Tatarstan 3886 3402.4 3337.7 2991.4 2897.1 2927.8 3000.9 1.13 Kabardino-Balkaria 329 325.3 316.8 308.7 290.9 291.1 289.6 1.12 Tambov Oblast 2437 2068.3 1766.9 1360.3 1282.1 1426.7 1757.1 1.18 North Ossetia–Alania 201 205.8 192.5 177.3 150.6 160.6 175.9 1.17 Adygea - 269.7 233.7 217.3 184.1 228.9 236.7 1.14 Stavropol Krai 4207 3433.9 3268.9 2851.6 2736.8 2890.5 3051.9 1.13 Belgorod Oblast 1762 1586.2 1498.9 1416.2 1287.5 1248.5 1449.3 1.09 Krasnodar Krai 4306 3902.6 3747.8 3669.5 3531.7 3634.4 3679.0 1.06 Chechnya - - - - 163.8 189 220.0 0.75 Farmers are dissatisfied with the poor working and living conditions. The number of rural settlements is constantly decreasing due to poor conditions. For example, 721 villages died out (from 18101 to 17380) in 2 years (from 1 January 2017 to 1 January 2019). Information for individual years: 2017; 2018; 2019. Since 1991, more than 20,000 villages have disappeared, exceeding the Wehrmacht invasion during the World War II. Through numerous measures of the government in recent years private farmers became in comparison to the years of the nineties a relevant new pillar in Russian agriculture.

Arable land in RSFSR and in Russian Federation: year 1940 1945 1950 1970 Acreage of agricultural crops in the Soviet republic, Autonomous republics, territories and regions (with distribution on economic areas); in all categories of households; thousand hectares (on page 56) Посевные площади сельскохозяйственных культур по союзным республикам, автономным республикам, краям и областям (с распределением по экономическим районам); во всех категориях хозяйств; тысяч гектаров 1990 1995 2000 Arable land (on page 490) 2005 2010 2015 Arable land (on page 726) Thousands km2 920,76 670,61 889,52 1219,12 1177,1 1025,4 854,19 758,37 751,88 793,19

Ownership and farm structure

After the Soviet Union collectivised its agricultural sector during the Stalin years and until the 1980s, most agricultural land in Russia was in state ownership, and the transition to a market-oriented economy had to start with privatisation of land and farm assets.Privatisation began in the late 1980s and within a short time most Soviet food was being grown on about 5% of the land that had been freed up for private farming. Lerman and K. Brooks (1996). "Russia's Legal Framework for Land Reform and Farm Restructuring", Problems of Post-Communism, 43(6):48-58. Russia's agricultural privatisation programme can be traced back to 1989–90, when Soviet legislation under Gorbachev allowed, first, the creation of non-state business enterprises in the form of cooperatives; and second, legalized private ownership of land by individuals (the November 1990 Law of Land Reform). While household plots cultivated by employees of collective farms and other rural residents had played a key role in Russian agriculture since the 1930s, legislation enabling independent private farms outside the collectivist framework was passed only in November 1990.

The Law on Peasant Farms adopted in December 1990 was followed by laws and decrees that defined the legal organizational forms of large agricultural enterprises, the legal aspects of land ownership, and the procedures for certifying and exercising ownership rights. Specifically, agricultural land was denationalized, and its ownership (together with the ownership of other farm assets) legally transferred from the state to the ownership of kolkhozes. But at the same time the government imposed a ten-year moratorium on buying and selling privately owned land.