Browse

A health-friendly crop rotation system for soil is an essential tool for sustainable agriculture, especially in the context of achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal. Therefore, the research aims to assess the integration of three crops beneficial to soil health into the production of winter wheat and winter rapeseed every third year and their socio-economic and environmental impacts in Latvia. The research results revealed that crop rotation has a significant impact on the economy of farms, and only ...

Soil liming is an essential component of sustainable soil management, affecting both crop yields, nutrient uptake efficiency, and environmental quality. Therefore, the research aims to assess the economic and environmental efficiency of soil liming in Latvia. This research compared the economic and environmental efficiency of crushed lime and limestone flour in Latvia, analysing the costs, benefits, and impacts of a six-year liming cycle on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and phosphorus leaching. The research resul...

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the most critical European Union (EU) policies, making a significant financial contribution to agriculture and rural development. As a result of CAP reforms, support payments change as they adapt to the global context, thereby contributing to economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Therefore, the present research aims to assess CAP support payments in the context of building more sustainable and resilient agriculture in EU Member States. The research emplo...

The European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) plays a crucial role in agricultural and economic development in the Member States. In the future, CAP support instruments must foster sustainable agriculture, with economic, social and environmental goals achieved through synergy. It would be increasingly important to assess the effectiveness of support payments in terms of their economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Accordingly, the present research aims to evaluate CAP support payments' soc...

In the European Union (EU), food production needs to become more sustainable and environmental-friendly. Farmers play a crucial role in sustainable agricultural practices on their farms because one of the goals of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy is to reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%, while ensuring that there is no deterioration in soil fertility, which could reduce fertilizer use by at least 20% by 2030. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to examine fertilizer consumption in EU Member States and to...

Pesticides are traditionally used in agricultural production to protect crops against pests and diseases. However, there is growing public concern about the negative impacts of pesticides on human health and the environment. Therefore, one of the policy documents of the European Green Deal, which plays an important role in long-term agricultural development and environment-friendly management, is the Farm to Fork Strategy, which requires reducing pesticide use by 50% in the European Union (EU) by 2030. Therefore, ...

Investments made in response to climate change could help to foster environment-friendly business practices. Therefore, bioeconomy industries are considered crucial for achieving climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. Accordingly, bioeconomy strategies have been designed in many countries, including in Latvia. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to examine the investment environment and the amounts of gross investment made in bioeconomy industries, as well as foreign direct investment attracted to Latvia ...

Bioeconomy industries play an important role in contributing to national economies and a transition to climate-friendly farming practices. This is evidenced by various policies implemented, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union (EU) Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Green Deal. The increasing productivity and new technologies can have negative environmental impacts, affecting the economic framework associated with ecosystem services. To address these challenges, coordina...

The knowledge-based bioeconomy has been prioritized through European Union (EU) research and innovation policies. In December 2017, the government approved the Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030, which set the horizontal strategic goal of achieving -research excellence in traditional bioeconomy industries and efficient transfer of knowledge-. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to examine one of the submeasures -promoting research excellence and efficient knowledge transfer within traditional bioeconomy in...

Business in the bioeconomy plays an important role in regional growth and balanced development of the country. Therefore, it is important that local governments stimulate business development. The Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030 was approved in 2017 with the aim of rapidly developing bioeconomy industries based on efficient use of natural resources. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to examine one of the sections of the strategy - -Result-oriented motivation system for local governments- for the imple...

The development of areas of bio-economy, which replace fossil fuels with bioresources in production and the provision of services, is important in many countries. Therefore, in 2017, the government approved the Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030, which provides for four key integrated groups and one complementary group of measures to implement this strategy. As five years have passed since the strategy was approved in Latvia, it is necessary to assess the progress of its implementation. Therefore, the aim of the pre...

Public procurement is the acquisition of products and services needed for the public sector and involves significant public budget resources. Incorporating environmental requirements into public procurement promotes both the goals of sustainable development and the principles of the circular economy. Green public procurement practices are becoming increasingly important, not only in the world, but also in Latvia. Therefore, in 2017, the Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030 was approved, which envisages the development...

The forest industry is an important sector of the economy of many countries, because the timber grown in it can be used for achieving various economic goals, including increasing added value and exports. However, the social functions of forestry: rural employment and the availability of forests, in the form of various ecosystem services, are also important to the public. Forests are home to various protected species, and forest biotopes, biotopes associated with forests as well as the biodiversity of forests play ...

Organic production is an overall system of farm management and food production that combines best environmental and climate action practices. Although various research studies estimate that the demand for organic products will increase in the world, farmers are reluctant to switch to this more environmentally friendly way of farming. In Latvia, organic farming developed rapidly after joining the EU in 2004 owing to the support policies implemented by the European Union (EU) and Latvia. In 2004, there were 1043 cer...

Organic production has become a highly specialized agricultural system, which requires specific professional education, knowledge and technologies. The global demand for organic products is projected to increase in the future. In Latvia, the output of organic agricultural products continues increasing, yet the current output as well as the growing processing and sales capacity is not able to meet the demand for organic products by consumers, which is expected to increase over the next years. Therefore, the aim of ...