CEEC countries Back to first page of this section New states struggle with change Millions of people in the newly independent states that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union are facing hardship, while their governments face a host of severe economic difficulties including securing food for all. Several years of low and late payment for produce in times of rapid inflation coupled with little or no availability of agricultural credit has caused a crippling cash-flow problem.
Farmers are unable to pay the costs to produce food.
And the use or availability of essential inputs such as fuel, agrochemicals, machinery and spare parts has fallen drastically. As a result, yields are frequently decreasing even if the area planted to foodcrops is increasing. Deep economic recession, the disruption of trade, budget constraints and the lack of foreign currency have dramatically reduced the ability to import food. And for many people this means lean times. Caught between drastically reduced salaries and pensions and steep increases in the cost of living, most people had to adjust their diets.