The paradoxes of smallholders in contemporary Russia[Парадоксы Развития Личного Подсобного Хозяйства В Современной России]

Contemporary Russian smallholders — lichnoe podsobnoe khoziaistvo (LPKh) — are characterized by a number of paradoxes. At the core of these paradoxes is that the role of LPKh in the agricultural system is changing and its future is uncertain. As agricultural production in Russia becomes more concentrated in fewer companies, as supply lines are strengthened, as regulation of sanitary and veterinary conditions become more comprehensive, and as Russian companies are more integrated to global markets, LPKh is falling behind on each dimension. Already in production decline, smallholders are likely to experience continued marginalization into the future. The prospects for re- versal of marginalization are poor. It is difficult to see how smallholders’ downward drift in Russia, either relative or absolute, can be stopped. LPKh in Russia lack resiliency in that operators have few levers to mitigate the effects of an increasingly hostile econom- ic environment or to reverse the restrictive policies that emanate from regional govern- ments. Moreover, contemporary urban consumers do not depend on LPKh output as be- fore and the sector does not help the state attain its goals, which means that the LPKh sector is not a priority. The Russian case adds to the development literature by showing a smallholder sector that is making progressively less contribution to economic growth. Further, smallholder-large farm relations are competitive in a way that smallholders cannot possibly win. The household sector will continue to produce food for self-provi- sion but its contribution to local food supply is likely to decline.