The Persistence of Poverty in Rural Russia A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Consequences of the Agrarian Reforms and the Causes of Poverty among the Agrarian Population in Russia in the period 1992-2014

Russia has witnessed a dramatic rise of poverty in the wake of the country´s transition from a command to a market economy. Poverty rates skyrocketed in the 1990s as a result of the abrupt reforms initiated by the Yeltsin administration. The agrarian sector was among the first economic sectors subjected to radical restructuring, aiming at the liquidation of state and collective agricultural organisations and their replacement with private family farms. Meanwhile, the consequences of this enforced restructuring proved catastrophic for agriculture. Agricultural output fell by almost a half, rural incomes declined dramatically and the living standard of rural population deteriorated. The Putin government set agriculture and the social development of the countryside as priority projects. Indeed, this resulted in a sound rebound of the agricultural sector the last decade. However, rural poverty declines in a much slower pace than urban poverty. As a consequence, although overall poverty is declining, the share of poor that are concentrated in the countryside has grown. For many rural areas, outmigration constitutes the only way to exit from poverty. This master thesis investigates, through the lenses of Critical Discourse Analysis, the impact of the reforms on the socio-economic organisation of rural communities. It lays special focus on the interplay between structure and agent, constrains and opportunities. The discourses on the agrarian reforms, rural society and rural poverty as they appear on multiple levels (national, political, local, individual), are examined against the backdrop of their social context in order to highlight the processes that contribute to the persistence of poverty. The argument of this thesis is that the Yeltsin reforms, articulated within a predominantly neoliberal political agenda, did not take in consideration the specificities of Russian agriculture and of the Russian rural community organisation. Contrary to their articulated objective, they brought about inefficient practices that led to the downsizing of Russian agriculture and impoverishment of the rural population. Although agricultural policies during Putin´s rule enhanced the performance of the agrarian sector, did not succeed in overcoming many of the structural constrains that impede the participation of the rural population into modern forms of production and their succesful integration in the market

A pan-European epidemiological study reveals honey bee colony survival depends on beekeeper education and disease control

Reports of honey bee population decline has spurred many national efforts to understand the extent of the problem and to identify causative or associated factors. However, our collective understanding of the factors has been hampered by a lack of joined up trans-national effort. Moreover, the impacts of beekeeper knowledge and beekeeping management practices have often been overlooked, despite honey bees being a managed pollinator. Here, we established a standardised active monitoring network for 5 798 apiaries over two consecutive years to quantify honey bee colony mortality across 17 European countries. Our data demonstrate that overwinter losses ranged between 2% and 32%, and that high summer losses were likely to follow high winter losses. Multivariate Poisson regression models revealed that hobbyist beekeepers with small apiaries and little experience in beekeeping had double the winter mortality rate when compared to professional beekeepers. Furthermore, honey bees kept by professional beekeepers never showed signs of disease, unlike apiaries from hobbyist beekeepers that had symptoms of bacterial infection and heavy Varroa infestation. Our data highlight beekeeper background and apicultural practices as major drivers of honey bee colony losses. The benefits of conducting trans-national monitoring schemes and improving beekeeper training are discussed

Risk indicators affecting honeybee colony survival in Europe : one year of surveillance

The first pan-European harmonized active epidemiological surveillance program on honeybee colony mortality (EPILOBEE) was set up across 17 European Member States to estimate honeybee colony mortality over winter and during the beekeeping season. In nine Member States, overwinter losses were higher and statistically different from the empirical level of 10 % under which the level of overwinter mortality was considered as acceptable with usual beekeeping conditions. In four other countries, these losses were lower. Using multivariable Poisson regression models, it was showed that the size of the operation and apiary and the clinically detected varroosis, American foulbrood (AFB), and nosemosis before winter significantly affected 2012-2013 overwinter losses. Clinically detected diseases, the size of the operation and apiary, and the non-participation to a common veterinary treatment significantly affected 2013 summer losses. EPILOBEE was a prerequisite to implement future projects studying risk factors affecting colony health such as multiple and co-exposure to pesticides