Russia Development Project, 1992 - 1998
In 1991, then Secretary of Agriculture Edward Madigan and
former St. Petersburg, Russia, Mayor Anatoly Sobchek initiated
a project designed to assist Russian agriculture in moving
from the former collective and state farm system to one privately
owned and managed. A team of USDA agricultural specialists
transformed the idea of building a U.S. style model farm
in rural northwest Russia into a reality, the Russian-American
Farm Privatization Project (RAFPP).
The RAFPP's goal was to develop a focal point, a research
and demonstration farm, centrally located in an area surrounded
by selected families who would then, with mentoring from
U.S. farm families, begin the long and arduous journey toward
developing private farms. Volkhov Raion, 75 miles east of
St. Petersburg, was chosen as the RAFPP site because of the
Raion administration's desire and willingness to provide
support. The Raion administration provided 850 hectares,
part of a former state farm, as the project site. Twenty-three
families were selected by the Volkhov Raion Department of
Agriculture to participate in the project. Each family was
provided 50-60 hectares of agricultural land on which it
was to develop a private farm.
One of the most important aspects of the RAFPP was in providing
these newly developing farmers access to American farm family
mentors. The American farm families, located long-term at
the research and demonstration farm (18 to 30 months), assisted
the families with individual consultations on agricultural
issues and provided educational programs. The Americans also
conducted research and demonstrations on crops and livestock
applicable to small farms.
The RAFPP expanded its efforts in 1996, recognizing the
need for an information delivery system similar to the U.S.
Extension System, which was accessible to the private farmers.
Project personnel worked closely with Russian counterparts
on the development of a Raion and Oblast extension system.
The Leningrad Oblast Ministry of Agriculture, with assistance
provided by RAFPP, formed the Information and Advisory Service
modeled after the U.S. Extension System. RAFPP also worked
corroboratively with regional agricultural universities and
academies to bring education and research capabilities to
the government-sponsored Information and Advisory Service.
Activities were coordinated with other regional agricultural
projects to provide a synergistic benefit to private farmers.
Many U.S. land-grant universities participated in the RAFPP
by providing faculty and staff with wide-ranging specializations
to implement the programs. Michigan State University, The
Ohio State University, and UC Davis were among the many university
partners collaborating with the St. Petersburg State Agrarian
University (SPSAU) and the Shushary Academy of Agrobusiness
Management (AAM), two Russian partners who have taken active
roles in the development of an extension system. The SPSAU
has dedicated faculty and staff to work with the RAFPP Research
and Demonstration farm to conduct projects specific to the
needs of the developing private farmer. The AAM, with the
cooperation of the World Bank-sponsored ARIS program, has
developed a training program for new personnel in the extension
system.
Although benefits to the United States are difficult to
quantify, they are significant. The Project has opened the
doors for U.S. agribusiness to provide improved seed and
animal genetics, equipment, and technology to the developing
agricultural sector. USDA has helped create the awareness
of the quality of, and demand for, U.S. products. It has
promoted individual contacts between Russian and American
businessmen, and it has created a viable alternative to the
state and collective farm system which will, as the private
sector agricultural community develops, create future markets
for all types of U.S. agricultural products. The project
created the platform, based on personal contacts, that the
U.S. agribusiness community can now build on to enhance trade
between the two countries.
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