Overview

This research investigates four areas: (1) policy-related barriers to entering and transacting in purchased input markets, and new contractual arrangements in farming to cope with those barriers; (2) emerging forms of land markets; (3) coping strategies under constrained and disorganized farm credit and financing systems; and (4) constraints on efficient allocation and mobility of farm labor

Seeking to improve agricultural output and access to agricultural inputs in Russia researchers from the US, Russia and Israel collaborated to study the constraints limiting farmers’ access to these necessary inputs. Researchers found that farm output was increasing in household subsidiary plots in contrast to former collective farms and input suppliers were becoming vertically integrated with agricultural producers. After conducting a baseline study of Russian agriculture researchers analyzed case studies and gathered secondary data on state funds, information on transfers of land shares, farm employment statistics, and access to inputs in different farmer enterprise contexts.