Yale University hosts conference on Ukraine's agricultural potential (05/11/97)

Yale University hosts conference on Ukraine's agricultural potential

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Yale Center for International and Area Studies on April 11-12 hosted an international conference on "Attaining Ukraine's Agro-Industrial Potential." The conference examined the performance as well as the prospects of Ukraine's agro-industrial sector. Participants analyzed problems and suggested strategies for bridging the gap between performance and potential in Ukrainian agriculture. Speakers addressed a broad spectrum of issues that related to the main theme of the conference: land reform and privatization, technology policy and the role of agricultural science, and infrastructure of the agro-industrial sector in Ukraine.

Yuri Shcherbak, ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, and Prof. Gustav Ranis, director of the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, opened the conference.

Ambassador Shcherbak gave an overview of the reform process in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of the Yale conference on the eve of the mid-May meeting of the Kuchma-Gore Commission in Washington.

Prof. D. Gale Johnson, University of Chicago, delivered the keynote address. He noted that the elimination of past distortions in the organization of agricultural production and the development of a framework of a civil society with well-defined and enforceable property rights are the most immediate tasks for Ukraine's agro-industrial policy.

All participants acknowledged Ukraine's considerable agricultural potential and the probable positive impact of this potential on the country's future. John Costello, president of the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs, remarked, "The Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs is co-sponsoring this timely and important conference in the belief that the development of Ukrainian agriculture is fundamental to the economic and political transformation of Ukraine. lt is my view that private sector-led agriculture will be the engine for the economic and political transformation of Ukraine and the key to prosperity in the next century."

Many variations on the main themes of the conference emerged from the presentations. However, the following necessary preconditions for attaining Ukraine's agro-industrial potential were reiterated by many of the speakers: privatization of land; creation of a functioning land market; improvement of infrastructure; creation of viable credit institutions for financing the purchase of inputs necessary to arrest the decline in production; reform of investment in the agricultural sector and human capital; reforrn of public attitudes in favor of market practices and efficiency; nearly total removal of government intervention in agriculture; enactment of legislation to clearly define and protect property rights; and creation of an investment climate favorable to foreign investors.

Speakers expressed confidence that Ukrainian agricultural production could be increased four- or five-fold from its current low levels, but extensive reform processes would be necessary to achieve this level of productivity.

Among the attendees and participants of the conference were six Ukrainian government officials, 20 Ukrainian and American business leaders, 11 academic experts, representatives of the media, non-profit and international organizations from both Ukraine and the U.S., as well as faculty and students from Yale and other universities.

All those present discussed a proposed resolution to establish an advisory body on agro-industrial policy within the framework of the intergovernmental Kuchma-Gore commission. The resolution and list of recommendations to the commission await further consideration.

The two-day conference provided a venue for a productive exchange of ideas among participants. Reflecting on the conference, George Chopivsky, founder of the Ukrainian Development Corp. and a major sponsor of the event, commented: "It was most gratifying to see Yale University facilitate an open, objective and frank discussion of the agricultural situation in Ukraine. The conference was instrumental in building working relationships among Ukrainian and Westem participants. I expect that these relationships will continue and will favorably affect policies of the Ukrainian and U.S. governments and of multilateral institutions."

The conference was sponsored by the Council on Russian and East European Studies and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies with support from the Chopivsky Family Foundation, Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs and AGCO Corp.

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