wth and Structure

As a result of continued emphasis on the country's industrialization,
the share of agriculture in national income (net material product) was
only 22 percent in 1970, compared to 31 percent ten years earlier.
According to official sources, however, output continued to rise. It
increased at an average annual rate of 4.8 percent in the 1960-67
period, declined by 10 percent in 1968, and regained the 1967 level in
1970. An increase of 8 percent in the next two years raised the farm
output in 1972 to a level 50 percent above the output level in 1960. For
the entire period the average annual increase in farm output was 3.4
percent.

Livestock production was reported to have increased more rapidly than
crop production in the 1960-70 period; the respective average annual
rates of growth in output were 4.1 and 2.9 percent. Crop output in 1970
was 33 percent larger than output in 1960, whereas livestock output was
50 percent higher. Available data are inadequate to reconcile the
reported growth in the value of livestock production with a seemingly
inconsistent rise in the physical output of livestock products and
changes in livestock herds.

The structure of farm output in 1970 did not differ materially from the
structure in 1960. The share of crops in the total output declined from
67.3 to 64.7 percent, while the share of livestock production rose
correspondingly from 32.7 to 35.3 percent. The proportions of grains and
technical crops were identical in both years. The share of vegetables,
potatoes, and melons declined slightly, but the proportion of feed crops
dropped from 9.2 to 6.2 percent. The lag in the growth rate of feed
production has contributed to the difficulties in the livestock sector.

Crops

With the exception of rye, potatoes, hemp, and cotton, output of all
major crops increased substantially in the 1960s (see table 16). The
production of rye declined sharply as a result of the diversion of rye
acreage to the production of more valuable crops. By 1970 rye output had
become insignificant--less than 1 percent of the volume of wheat
produced in that year. The decline in potato production was minor, but
the output of raw cotton declined by 15 percent. The largest increases
were attained in the production of alfalfa and table grapes--crops that
are important for livestock production and export, respectively. Barley
output, important for livestock and beer production, rose by 82 percent.
Whea