Though the trajectories of rural development in countries adopting a socialist orientation differ considerably, all have been influenced by the view that collectivisation is a primary requirement of socialist agricultural development.

Therefore, an examination of 'socialist agriculture' involves first of all an evaluation of the history, performance and advisability of collective agriculture, ie, some form of nationally organised system of joint organisation of production and distribution by the rural producers themselves, whether termed 'co-operative', 'collective farm' or 'commune'.

Though these dimensions of the reassessment process are important, and should be dealt with in any more comprehensive discussion of socialist agriculture, the contributions to this Bulletin concentrate on recent changes in systems of macro and micro-economic management and basic-level production processes, with special reference to three areas of policy change and institutional reform.