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My USDA colleagues and I believe that, if President Yeltsin and his 

 reformist Government are maintained, the pace of agricultural reform will 

 accelerate. We will see more private farms, more decentralization, more 

 private marketing of agricultural output, and a clearer right to own and sell 

 land. 



Initially, this may further exacerbate the current chaotic system of 

 distribution; the quantity of domestically-produced food reaching the neediest 

 in urban areas could drop as state procurements drop. There could be declines 

 in aggregate output for a year or two. 



But slowly, production and productivity will increase, and in a few years 

 Russia will produce a larger share of its food. I will return later to this 

 point in the context of future U.S. exports. This is an uncertain outcome—it 

 depends on the continued strength of reformers in Moscow. 



Food Situation 



In the meantime, there is an immediate need for increased supplies of food 

 and feed grains to supply many of Russia's major cities and other FSU 

 countries. 



