Abstract

Privatization has proceeded at a fairly rapid pace in Lithuania. By 1995, more than half of the cropland was managed by private farms and personal plots. Most of the remaining land was managed by various forms of partnerships. The input supply, processing, distribution, and retail enterprises are also well along in the process of transformation to private ownership and management forms. There are problems in completing the privatization process, but there are related reforms and policies that are also important in developing a market economy for Lithuanian agriculture. This paper reviews the progress and constraints in the privatization process and examined other prerequisites for developing a viable food and agriculture sector. In order for the fledgling private sector to grow and develop, attention also needs to be focused on the institutional and policy environment needed to both guide and sustain private business.