How Rural Development Programmes Serve for Viability of Small farms? Case of Latvia and Lithuania

The analysis of structure of agricultural sector shows a poor viability of small-scale farms in new EU member states despite support of the Common Agricultural Policy. Considering this problem, the aim of the article is to identify indicators that can be used to show changes in the viability of small farms in order to bring policy makers more attention to this very important group of farms in the context of the agricultural economy in Latvia and Lithuania. For this purpose, 4 economic indicators were selected, analyzed and their impact to the change in the level of viability of small farms during 2007-2016 was assessed. The research based on the data of Farm Accountancy Data Network and Farm Structure Survey, using statistical data comparison, systematic indicator selection and mathematical induction methods. The results shows that despite growing of the rate of subsidies on investment and improving income level in small farms over the observed period , the viability of small farms remains heterogeneous and insufficient to contribute in constructing more resilient and sustainable agricultural sector both in Lithuania and in Latvia. Thus, in the upcoming Rural Development Programming period, the priority should be given to small-scale farms since they play a significant role not only in development of viability of agriculture in general but also are important to agricultural sustainability

Seasonal observation and source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosol from forested rural site (Lithuania)

International audienc

Indoor-outdoor relationship of submicron particulate matter in mechanically ventilated building: Chemical composition, sources and infiltration factor.

To evaluate the impact of outdoor particulate pollution on indoor air quality, the chemical composition and sources of submicron aerosol particles (PM1) were studied indoors and outdoors. Measurements were carried out during the heating season from October 15, 2020, to February 8, 2021, at the Center for Physical Sciences and Technologies in Vilnius, Lithuania. Online measurements of PM1 chemical composition were performed using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM (organics, sulfate, and nitrate)) and an Aethalometer (equivalent black carbon, BC). In parallel with the online measurements, filter-based elemental composition and 14C analysis of PM1 were performed using a Particle-Induced broad-beam X-ray Emission (PIXE) and a Single Stage Accelerated Mass Spectrometer (SSAMS), respectively. The source apportionment results showed a dominant contribution of biomass burning to the total carbonaceous aerosol particles, including primary (30%) and secondary (40%) fractions. According to the enrichment factors, the main source of trace elements was road dust resuspension (30%), while anthropogenic emissions accounted for only 13% of trace elements. The infiltration factor (Finf) of all studied PM1 constituents was low (Finf∼0.03). This result indicates that the three-stage building filter system (G4-F7-F9) provides high protection against particle pollution of different origins and significantly reduces indoor exposure to PM1. The changed chemical composition of indoor PM1 can be attributed to species-specific evaporation and some minor indoor sources