was extremely low. The inadequacy of the feed supply
in relation to the government's livestock program has been designated by
the leadership as one of the most crucial problems of agriculture.

In the 1971-75 period improvement in the feed supply is to be achieved
mainly through an increase in feed crop yields, but a certain increase
in acreage has also been planned. Results in the first two years of the
five-year period have jeopardized the attainment of the goal for 1975.
Substantial investment funds are to be provided for the modernization of
dairy barns and for the construction of feed mills with assistance from
the Soviet Union. With a view to raising productivity and output,
livestock production is to be increasingly concentrated on large
specialized farms. This policy ignored the demonstrated superiority of
livestock production on small farm plots.

Major problems in the expansion of cattle herds and livestock production
are also posed by poor management and inadequate veterinary services.
The reproduction rate of cattle is abnormally low because of the high
percentage of old, sterile cows in the herds. The incidence of diseases
of the reproductive system and of mastitis among cows is rapidly
increasing, and mortality among cattle is high. Young breeding stock is
reared in unsuitable surroundings, is ill fed, and consequently remains
underdeveloped. A large proportion of newly born calves succumb to
various diseases. There is a shortage of trained veterinarians, but
veterinarians stationed on farms and in district veterinary hospitals
are reported to feel no responsibility for the deplorable conditions.
The care of livestock also suffers from a lack of adequately trained
workers and a high labor turnover in the livestock sections of the
agroindustrial complexes. Managers and specialists at the higher levels
of the agroindustrial complexes fail to provide systematic supervision
and guidance and often exhibit a lack of interest in the livestock
enterprise. These conditions were reported to the General Assembly by a
deputy minister of agriculture.

Despite the shortage of feed, increased yields per animal were attained
in the 1960-71 period. For agriculture as a whole the output of milk per
cow rose from 1,482 to 2,281 quarts, the number of eggs per hen
increased from ninety-one to 115, and the amount of wool per sheep rose
from 5.3 to 7.4 pounds. In 1972, however, yields per cow and per hen
declined. In the socia