How Has Moscow Region Fared in Privatizing and Taxing Farmland: Two Decades of Reforms
This article summarizes the findings of a recent study of the implications of the changes in the Russian land use and policy which have taken place since the Soviet Union collapse in the early 1990s. We analyze the complex interrelationships between the ongoing privatization of farmland, its market price and cadastral valuation. Using the capital region of Moscow as a case study we examine possible correlation between the changes in farmland area, the percentage of privatized agricultural lands and land tax revenues. The purchase of development rights as a tool to preserve farmland is considered under a new angle suitable to the conditions of the economy in transition. In particular, we suggest partial privatization of valuable parcels of farmland in the vicinity of large agglomerations such as Moscow region where land conversion pressures are especially strong and represent the imminent threat to farmland, its amenities and ecological services. We believe that if the farmland will be sold without the development rights attached to it, socially efficient amount of farmland could be preserved and future food security will be secured. We use spatial analysis to visualize locality-level dynamics of changes in farmed areas and to visualize the percentage of privatized farmland during the last two decades.