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Vegetable Farming and Market Gardening in Crimea

The development, decline, and post-war revival of industrial vegetable growing, potato farming, and melon growing in the Crimean Oblast. Following a deep decline caused by the 1944 deportation of indigenous peoples and a decade of economic stagnation within the RSFSR, the industry underwent a fundamental restructuring and resurgence thanks to systematic support and investments from the UkrSSR after 1954.

Overview

In hot and arid Crimea, the development of vegetable growing and market gardening was historically determined by the availability of irrigation near rivers and foothill reservoirs. Prior to World War II, the peninsula's vegetable and fruit markets amazed with the wealth and variety of garden produce, and the cultivation of these crops was managed primarily by Crimean Tatars, Bulgarians, Greeks, and Germans.

The 1944 deportation caused a catastrophic decline in vegetable growing: fields became overgrown with weeds, and the yields of garden produce, potatoes, and melon crops dropped by 2–3 times. Only after the transfer of the Crimean Oblast to the UkrSSR in 1954 and the implementation of a large-scale Ukrainian plan to develop greenhouse farming, irrigation, and establish a specialized trust did vegetable growing in Crimea undergo a true technological revolution, transforming into one of the peninsula's leading economic sectors.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Pre-war state and consequences of the 1944 deportation: In the pre-war period, vegetable growing developed successfully in the foothills and river valleys through the efforts of indigenous peoples and national minorities. The Deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 and the June Deportation of Crimean peoples (Bulgarians, Greeks, Germans) led to the desolation of irrigated lands. Vegetable yield dropped from 118.2 centners/ha in 1940 to 50.9–55 centners/ha in 1950–1953.
  • Crisis in potato farming and melon growing: The area of potato plantations shrank from 10.7 thousand hectares (1940) to 5.5–5.9 thousand hectares in 1950–1953. Potato yields in the first post-war decade averaged just 29–30 centners/ha (compared to 69.4 centners/ha in 1940). The yield of melon crops (watermelons and melons) in 1950 fell to 16 centners/ha compared to 60 centners/ha in 1940.
  • Report for Oleksiy Kyrychenko (January 1954): In the report "On the State of Agriculture of the Crimean Oblast," prepared in January 1954 for the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kyrychenko, official statistical data were presented regarding the hopeless decline of vegetable growing, horticulture, and livestock farming during the 10 years of Crimea's inclusion in the RSFSR.
  • UkrSSR government initiatives (April 1954): On April 7, 1954, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the UkrSSR Nykyfor Kalchenko and First Secretary of the CC CPU Oleksiy Kyrychenko prepared a letter to the All-Union leadership (G. Malenkov and N. Khrushchev) titled "On the Implementation of Special Measures for the Restoration and Development of Agriculture, Cities, and Resorts of the Crimean Oblast." The document provided for expanding vegetable crop sowings, establishing greenhouse complexes, and allocating 10 thousand hectares of land to expand plantings.
  • Government program and greenhouse infrastructure: By a decree of the All-Union government and the CC CPSU, the Council of Ministers of the UkrSSR was required to increase vegetable crop areas in Crimea to 18.6 thousand hectares by 1958, and expand the area of irrigated lands by 17.2 thousand hectares (to 58.2 thousand hectares in 1956). To grow seedlings and early vegetables, large-scale construction of greenhouses and hotbeds was launched (up to 218 thousand frames on collective farms and 76 thousand frames on state farms in 1956).
  • Crimean Trust of Vegetable and Dairy State Farms: The creation of a specialized trust within the system of the Ministry of State Farms made it possible to fundamentally improve the supply of Crimean cities and resorts with fresh vegetables, greens, and dairy products.
  • Revolution in vegetable farming of the 1960s: Thanks to the implementation of the Ukrainian plan, a network of powerful greenhouse complexes was built in the foothills and on the Southern Coast. As early as the beginning of the 1960s, refrigerated trucks supplied Crimean produce year-round not only to local resorts, but also to Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other industrial centers.