Negdel
Negdel(Mongolian:Нэгдэл,"union, association" ) is the common term for theagricultural cooperativesin theMongolian People's Republic.The full name is Khödöö aj akhuin negdel (Mongolian:Хөдөө аж ахуйн нэгдэл=Agricultural association).
History
[edit]Early attempts
[edit]The first attempts atagricultural collectivizationin theMongolian People's Republicwere made in 1930-32, but failed miserably. Mongolia's livestock population decreased by around a third and the forceful manner in which collectivization was conducted lead touprisingsthat could only be quelled with the help of theSoviet Union.[1]
Introduction of the negdel
[edit]New attempts at collectivization were begun with different tactics and another name - the cooperatives in the early 1930s had been called khamtral, i.e.collective,kolkhoz- in the mid-1930s, but initially only on a very small scale: while there were 139 negdels country-wide in 1950,[2]in 1949 ten negdels inKhövsgölcombined had no more than 4,700 animals, with the smallest negdel only owning 43.[3]
Collectivization
[edit]The move towards collectivization gained momentum in the mid-1950s and by 1960, 99.5% of herders had "voluntarily" joined a negdel. The number of negdels was gradually decreased so that in time they became identical tosumsboth area and population-wise.
Dissolution
[edit]After thedissolution of the Soviet Unionand theMongolian Revolution of 1990,the herds wereprivatizedagain and all negdels dissolved. Farms were organized into private companies. The process of privatisation occurred through two phases of reform between 1991 and 1992.[4]
Organization
[edit]A negdel was organized into several brigades that were mostly nomadic. The members of a negdel received wages and were entitled to holidays and pensions. Dependent on the geographical location, herders were allowed to keep 10-15 private animals per family member, but no more than 50-75 per family.[2]
References
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