Russian Reforms: the Return of the Peasant?

Russian agriculture in transition (1991-1998) was characterised by a production collapse due to aloss in quality and quantity of acreage, disinvestments, falling purchasingpower, and increasedimports. Neither traditional agriculture nor the nascent family farm sector havebeen able to ensure sustained food production. Instead, the impoverishment of the population hasresulted in a considerable increase in the relative importance of household food production.In the present paper some features of household food production are explored: (1) thedevelopment in acreage used forHFP, (2) the number of people involved over the years, (3) the availability anduse of the necessary factors of production, such as land, labour, and variable inputs, (4)characteristics of households involved, and (5) implications for welfare.