Belarus is in the news, and not in a good way. The country’s leader since the fall of the Soviet Union (28 years) has been Alexander Lukashenko, also called the last dictator in Europe. To ensure that he will be dictator for life, he declared that death was the only way he will relinquish his office.  Within the former Soviet bloc, Belarus has remained the strongest adherent to a centrally planned economy. As a result, its agriculture has been slow to adapt to competitive forces (e.g. use of collective and peasant farming). The geography is mostly marshland and forests, but it produces barley, wheat, livestock, and other products. Notably, it is the world’s eighth largest producer of potatoes and has had off- and on-again...