The little information available on the subject suggests that price considerations have been the major reason for the crop acreage changes. The price system and official regulations governing farm production have not always operated in the manner planned by the government. Farms, for instance, have steadfastly refused to enlarge the acreage of irrigated corn to the extent demanded by the government, preferring to use irrigation for more profitable crops. In 1971 the farms failed to plant the prescribed acreage of feed crops or to expand the production of vegetables. Public statements by the government on the reasons for these problems have been most guarded. After a thorough review of the situation in the spring of 1972, the Committee for State Control issued a release that concluded by stating that the reasons for the problems were analyzed in detail and that, after discussion, specific proposals were made to the appropriate ministries.
ORGANIZATION
The organizational structure of agriculture in all its aspects is in a state of transition, which will not be completed for several years. The reorganization was decided upon by the Central Committee of the BKP (Bulgarian Communist Party—see Glossary) in April 1970 on the initiative of Zhivkov. The latest of several laws and decrees published in this context appeared in June 1972 with an effective date of January 1, 1973. The new organizational policy represents a tightening of central controls over agriculture.
Agroindustrial Complexes
The basic unit in the new organizational system, which is relied upon to realize the leadership's agricultural policies, is the agroindustrial complex. The agroindustrial complex is an organization comprising several previously independent, contiguous collective and (or) state farms having similar climatic and soil conditions. The complex may also include other organizations that are engaged in the production, processing, and distribution of farm products or in other activities related predominantly to agriculture.
In the fall of 1972 there were 170 agroindustrial complexes formed through the consolidation of 845 collective farms and 170 state farms; including the private plots of collective and state farmers, they contained 92.5 percent of the cultivated land and accounted for 95.4 percent of the farm output. Except for a few experimental units created in 1969, most agroindustrial complexes were established toward the end of 1970 and in early 1971. Only a small number of private farms located in difficult mountain areas remained outside the new system.
The average agroindustrial complex is composed of five or six farms having a cultivated area variously reported as 59,000 to 68,000 acres and a permanent work force of about 6,500 people. Although the large size of the complexes has been questioned by several economists on grounds of efficiency, Zhivkov was reported to have suggested the possibility of eventually merging the existing complexes into only twenty-eight districtwide units.
Types and Aims
The announced purpose of the reorganization is to increase productivity through concentration and specialization of agriculture on an industrial basis in accord with the requirements of the current scientific and technical revolution and with the achieved level of maturity of the country's economy. The reorganization is intended to increase output, improve quality, reduce costs, and increase the exportable surplus. It is also expected to bring about social improvement in the countryside by raising the farmworkers' incomes and helping to reduce the differences between town and country. Government officials intend to complete the transition to the new organizational structure by 1980.
The original aim of the new farm policy in the late 1960s was to create large-scale regional organizations to handle all aspects of the production, processing, and distribution of foods and the supply of machinery, fertilizers, and other farm needs through vertical integration of the consolidated farm organizations with industrial and distribution enterprises. This aspect of farm policy is to be realized gradually over a period of years. In the meantime vertical integration will be based predominantly on contractual relations.