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some time. The problem can, of course, be overcome 

 by U.S. government guarantees or equity 

 participation. To the extent that the U.S. provides 

 such assurances, care must be taken to ensure that 

 investments do not merely reinforce the old non- 

 competitive system. 



Investment in small or new enterprises will usually 

 be very positive. This will be particularly likely 

 if there is equity participation by private farmers 

 and plot owners, their associations, or by state and 

 collective farms which have been truly privatized. 

 Farmer-owned cooperatives structured on the American 

 pattern are one appropriate approach to assure this 

 goal. 



These then are some of my thoughts on U.S. assistance to 

 agriculture in the NIS. 



Attached is a brief resume, as requested by the committee. 



In addition, I am attaching to my testimony a copy of a paper by 

 Dr. Alexander A. Nikonov titled "Agricultural Transition in Russia 

 and the Former States of the USSR". This was published in the 

 American Journal of Agricultural Economics in 1992. Dr. Nikonov 

 is president of the Agrarian Institute of the Russian Academy of 



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