Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft
As an agricultural production cooperative, LPG, the association of farmers and their means of production and other employees for communal agricultural production in the GDR is called. Agricultural cooperatives were widespread in the second half of the 20th century in the socialist countries of Europe.
Underlying Ideology
The collectivization and industrialization of agriculture is one of the basic ideas of socialism.
"We will break the rule of the landowners, are their land expropriated without compensation and given to the land-poor farmers, state farms will create with modern machinery operation, equate the working conditions of the rural proletariat to those of the urban workforce and involve many millions of toiling peasants in the construction of socialism. "
The establishment of the LPG was partly an indirect necessity of land reform in the Soviet occupation zone. The Neubauer points formed in the course of the land reform were with a rule size of 6 hectares often too small to be managed rationally. The new farmers lacked also often of agricultural experience and technical equipment.
History
Foundation of LPG
The SED decided on the 2nd Party Conference of the SED, in East Berlin on 9 - 12th July 1952, the measures for the development of cooperatives. This agricultural production cooperatives were admitted.
The LPG were built in a founding meeting, a statute according to legal statute had prescribed form giving and were confirmed by a government authority. Member of LPG could be with its own economy, not only farmers, but also farm workers and other citizens.
It first three types were formed by LPG ( Type I, Type II and Type III). Depending on the type of the farmers were doing their ground (I), introduced to their machines (II) and to the entire farm with cattle, machinery and buildings ( III) in the cooperative. The farmers also had to bring in cash (net asset contribution). LPG type III were initially rare, because there was no sufficiently large stables. Many LPG converted only later, often under pressure from the party and state of type I or II to the then dominant type III.
On the farmers, particularly in the late 1950s, considerable pressure has been increasingly applied to join a mostly still uneconomic LPG. The individual peasant farms were systematically discriminated against in the machine lending by the machine - lending stations ( MAS), later machine-tractor stations ( MTS), so that the output limitation, the obligation to deliver a certain quantity of agricultural products, was to meet more and more difficult. Many farmers have fled to the 2nd Party Conference of the SED 1952 to Wall in 1961 from the GDR to not be a member of LPG to need. Their farms were initially managed by the state local farming community ( ÖLB ) and later incorporated by the expropriation of the land in the LPG.
Further development of the LPG
In the spring of 1960, the collectivization of agriculture through a campaign of SED was completed forcibly. From this point on, there were hardly more individual farmers.
From the mid- 1960s, the cooperation between the LPG was promoted with the aim to arrive at a higher concentration and specialization of production. During this process and beyond merged many LPG, the number means a decrease from 1960 to 1970 of 19313 in 9009. At the end of the upheavals cooperatives departments were crop production. In this field the economy of several LPG was operated jointly, so the "rest holdings", as they were sometimes also called, largely remained only the livestock industry. The mid-1970s forced the SED to convert the KAP plant production in LPG plant production ( LPG ( P) ) and VEG (P). The administrative separation of animal husbandry ( (T) = animal production ) and agriculture, which was manifested by the formation of crop production enterprises, was highly controversial among the farmers, as they drew numerous negative impacts. For example, increased the transport and administrative expenses. Although the specialization corresponded to general trends in Western countries, however, was exaggerated, the KAP had partially the unmanageable size of entire counties. Regarding its done under Werner Felfe at the beginning of the 1980s, tentative agricultural policy adjustments of the SED.
After the German reunification in 1990, the LPG had to adapt to the new social and economic conditions and in particular the existing structures of the West German commercial law. The LPG broke up completely or partially, remaining or reduced LPG converted mainly as a registered cooperative eG or as a limited company, as the shape of the uniform cooperative ownership of the LPG was not up to West German commercial law. At resolutions they told the co-operative ownership in favor of co- owners, in turn, partly as a re- judge their agriculture began. These remaining large companies dominate in much of the agriculture in East Germany. According to the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which governs the resolution of the LPG and their transition to other legal forms, the inventory contributions were repaid to the extent that LPG could afford this economically. In particular, this point has been the subject of numerous lawsuits.
Member and economic conditions
The cooperative and land law was regulated in the special jurisdiction of the LPG - law. The introduced land of the peasants remained their property, but with far-reaching restrictions on sale. The LPG had a legally guaranteed right to use the comprehensive agricultural land. Farm buildings, inventory and forest land were the property of the LPG.
The LPG wirtschafteten as a legally independent holdings. The LPG members were, as far as they were working in the LPG, a performance-based wages and profit sharing, which was included in the year-end payout. Farmers who had introduced agricultural land, also received an area-related profit share, called allotments.
The LPG were formally democratically conducted. The model statute provided that on the board and important affairs of LPG will be decided in a general meeting. However, the SED and state organs exerted great influence on the decisions, the very influential chairmen were often used by SED party order from outside. The work in the LPG were organized on brigades and divisions. The LPG members were required by law to devote all their labor of LPG. Withdrawal from an LPG or taking up employment outside the LPG was dependent on the pattern Statute of the approval of the general meeting of the LPG and was considered politically undesirable. Thus, it was not easy for members to withdraw from the LPG when the other members locked against it.
Most LPG statutes stipulated that the cooperative farmers in addition to their activity in the LPG also limited could operate "individual utility ". This was limited to a profitable livestock. Each member usually were 0.5 hectares of land, in the course of development, these areas have been but for the most part managed by the LPG and the cooperative members received from a Deputatlohn in the form of fodder and the like, or alternatively an annual supplementary remuneration, directed according to the yields.
Acceptance of LPG
The productivity in agriculture increased after Zwangsvergenossenschaftlichung from initially, but was increased in the 1960s again. Nevertheless, the farmers arranged in time with the LPG. It also played a role, that working in an LPG a relief compared to that of individual farmers represented, for example, the vacation possibilities as well as the more regular working hours. Also resulted in many LPG by the year-end bonus and the farm economy over average earning potential. The LPG encouraged their members in addition aids by the Eigenheimbau or delegation to a ( agriculturally based ) studies, and partly operated kindergartens and recreational facilities and more.
The acceptance of the LPG was also based on the statutory mandate to ensure the convergence of living standards between urban and rural areas. With the turn, however, the often excessive number of workers exposed.
Other forms of industrial agriculture
In addition to the LPG there was, albeit in much smaller numbers, state agricultural production enterprises, the state-owned assets. In horticulture, it was with a similar structure, GPG, Horticulture production cooperative.
The LPG closely resembled the Soviet kolkhoz, but in which the soil was state property. Similarly organized farms there were in all Eastern bloc countries, albeit to varying degrees.