Die Viehwirtschaft im Gebiet Kaliningrad: zum Transformationsprozeß im ländlichen Raum

The livestock economy played an important role in the agriculture of the area around Kaliningrad until the end of the eighties. Particularly the milk economy, but also the breeding of beef and pork were significant sources of income for the large agricultural firms. The changes in the economic situation of the agricultural firms went hand in hand with the changes in the economic and political situation. The privatisation of the old combines primarily lead to them taking on a new legal form. All other changes and transformations took longer to assert themselves. New, private agricultural firms were also founded, however, these are equipped with a small amount of land and, above all, very little capital resources. This shortage of finances which affects all companies, regardless of their legal forms, has considerable effects on the lives tock industry. The livestock figures which, during the period of the socialist planned economy, were distributed relatively evenly across the entire area, are dropping and are concentrated on certain favourable areas. The newly created private firms generally have low numbers of cattle, due to the fact that they are unable to invest in barns, breeding animals and high performance fodder. Should the urgently required measures for the support of the animal production fail to be im plemented by the regional administration over a long period of time, then the fear would be justified that the agriculture will suffer a setback which it will hardly be able to compensate. The continued exodus of young and well educated specialists from the agricultural sector will continue further and the percentage of old people in the village population will increase. To a growing extent, a subsistence economy is being operated which will further hinder the competitiveness of the agriculture in the region around Kaliningrad in comparison to, e.g. the neighbouring states of Poland and Lithuania