106 



Mr. Penny. I mean, in terms of the financing, that is a similar 

 pattern in terms of American agricultural co-ops providing financ- 

 ing and other inputs. But the sharing of the equipment and the 

 rest is 



Mr. Evans. If I may add one point, Mr. Chairman. I think the 

 point of greatest importance about this is that the solution address- 

 es the social problems and solves the social problems. 



Mr. Penny. It allows them to stay in a collective environment in 

 which they share the other social securities. 



Mr. Evans. Exactly, yes. 



Mr. Penny. And at less individual risk than they might be if 

 they were out on their own? 



Mr. Evans. Yes. 



Mr. Penny. I appreciate your observations in that regard. 



Mr. Allard. 



Mr. Allard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was curious, on your 

 recent trip to the former Soviet Union, what were you expecting to 

 find when you went there and then when you got there, what was 

 it that you saw that perhaps was different from what you expected 

 to find? 



Mr. Evans. I have been in the Soviet Union many times. I am 

 not really sure how many times, but this last trip had a special 

 function in that we had just been told that we could begin to work 

 in Belarus and in Moldova, and on several occasions I have done 

 this for VOCA, to go into the country when we are just beginning 

 the program to get acquainted with the Government officials, to 

 travel around the country, to try to identify groups of private farm- 

 ers that would like to look at us, to look at an industry that might 

 be interested in working with us, and so that is what I was doing. 



I found in both instances things of — where we could do a lot of 

 good. The governments in both countries were most receptive and 

 interested in a VOCA-type cooperation. I will give you one example, 

 in Belarus, that I think is quite interesting and that is, they want 

 very much for someone to come and work with them there on what 

 they should do with the lands that have been contaminated by the 

 Chernobyl disaster. 



They would like to be able to use that land that can be farmed 

 safely but the products can't be eaten or used for livestock food. So 

 we are starting a project there to look at the production of oilseeds 

 for the production of diesel fuel, for example, the production of 

 sweet sorghum for the manufacture of ethanol fuels, and we are 

 going to have some test spots out this year to see what the uptake 

 of radiation is, whether radiation ends in the plant and we will go 

 on from there. 



The example of the farm that I gave the chairman a moment ago 

 was in Moldova and was also uncovered on this trip. 



Mr. Allard. I am glad you brought up the issue on some of the 

 alternatives that they have for their farm products. That brings us 

 into the area of how technically trained are some of the 

 agriculturalists that we have over in Russia. I am a veterinarian 

 by background, so when I think of somebody as technically trained, 

 I think, well, who do we have over there that is qualified to do arti- 

 ficial insemination and embryo transplants and that kind of thing 

 which has helped make our — and you brought up a couple- exam- 



