Organic farming in Latvia: development and economics

Organic agriculture plays an important role in the sustainable and environment-friendly agricultural production. The authors paper analyse the development and economic is¬sues of organic farming in Latvia. The primary information on organic farming in Latvia regarding the trends, the number of farms and land use, support payments as well as a short description of the structure of organic farming are provided. The influence of Latvia’s accession to the European Union on the organic farming development is assessed. The results of an analysis of the economic performance (net value added) of organic farms and a comparison with conventional farming are presented

Nutrient-Rich Organic Soil Management Patterns in Light of Climate Change Policy

Nutrient-rich organic soil management in agriculture is among the critical sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally and at the European level, where the most significant effects are observed in Northern, Eastern, and Central Europe. Growing climate change mitigation targets urge the need to assess and analyze current organic soil management patterns and policy planning and look for appropriate future management strategies. The objectives of this research were to assess the nutrient-rich organic soil management patterns in Latvia during the last decade and to conclude whether organic soil management in agriculture has been climate change mitigation targeted and driven by agriculture support policy. We analyzed the complex, two state-level databases based organic soil data set by using the multidimensional approach of the research methods, including graphical, spatial, correlation, factor, and cluster analysis. Our results revealed the lack of purposeful organic soil management planning in light of the climate change policy in Latvia during the research period and the inexpediency of the agriculture support policy in this regard. The research introduced an innovative methodological approach for the analysis of organic soil management patterns and policy impacts, as well as opened the necessity for a revision of the nutrient-rich organic soil management perspective in light of climate change mitigation targets. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-10-017 Full Text: PD

Organic Farms and Agricultural GHG Emissions in Latvia

At the end of 2015, there were 3 635 organic farms in Latvia, which was 158 more than in the previous year, and the number of certified organic farms was steady over the last six years. The organically certified area was 237 462 ha, or approximately 12% of the total UAA in the country, which was 14.38% more than in 2014. After the Paris Summit on Climate Change held at the end of 2015, Latvia joined the initiative “4‰” proposed by France, the purpose of which was to increase the organic matter content of soil and contribute to the absorption of carbon by the soil through agricultural activities being appropriate under the local conditions from the economic, environmental and social aspects. Thus the application of organic farming methods in agricultural production is one of the possibilities to reduce GHG emissions, as the potential of organic farming to absorb carbon in soil and aboveground biomass is higher than that of conventional farming because most of the year fields are covered with green cover. According to a number of researchers, nitrous oxide emissions from organically managed soils are 492 ± 160 kg CO2 eq. ha−1a−1 smaller than from non-organically ones. The difference in emissions from arable land reaches 497 ± 162 kg CO2 eq. ha−1a−1. However, if measured per unit of crop yield, nitrous oxide emissions are greater by 41 ± 34 kg CO2 eq. ha−1a−1 DM (Skinner et al. 2014). The research aims to characterise the organic farming practices of farms surveyed within the present research, identify the GHG emissions produced by the farms and assess the farms’ contribution to GHG emission mitigation in Latvia

Assessment of reed potential for thermal energy production in Latvia

Global challenges such as increasing population density and climate changes are putting focus on such emerging issues as transition to a green economy and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. Starting from 2021, activities in climate protection will be launched by the Paris Agreement, which provides not only for adapting to already occurring climate changes and reducing the expected effects but also promoting investment flows in a low carbon economy. In Latvia, one of the largest greenhouse gas emission sources is heat production from fossil fuel. Although biomass combustion generates about the same amount of carbon dioxide as fossil fuel, this is a friendlier source of energy because when it is restored, the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed. Currently the most commonly used renewable source for the generation of thermal energy is wood. In the present research a theoretical study is conducted to assess the possibility of using another type of biomass – reeds, which is a common resource available throughout the country and recovers quickly. The research results showed that reeds can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to firewood, but its efficient use should take into account the following factors: biomass with low humidity obtainable late in winter, the combustion process has a high ash level and before transporting, it should receive primary treatment to increase the bulk density and reduce transport costs. Reed as a separate fuel material is effective for solid fuel boilers, located close to the resource extraction site. An optimal use of this biomass source is possible in combination with other energy sources to produce pellets or briquettes

Negociación colectiva y conflictividad social en el sector textil: Málaga 1960-1970

Este artículo intenta contribuir al conocimiento de las relaciones laborales en la última etapa del franquismo. Terminada la autarquía, la liberalización económica conlleva un cambio de esa dinámica basada en la negociación colectiva a través de instituciones oficiales, que fracasa con frecuencia

Trends in the Development of Organic Farming in Poland and Latvia Compared to the EU

The development of organic farming is determined by many factors. On the one hand, it is an increase in demand for food produced in this production system, on the other it is a subsidy system for organic farming under the CAP. The purpose of the article is a comparative analysis of the direction of changes in the development of organic farming in Poland and Latvia compared to the EU in the years 2000-2017. Information was analysed on the organic farming i.e. the area of organic crops, the number of certified farms and organic retail sales, based on FIBL data from the years 2000–2017. An analysis of the trend of changes in organic farming in Poland and Latvia indicates that the development of organic farming in both countries has clearly accelerated after their accession to the EU and after covering organic farming by the CAP support system. However, the case of Poland is definitely different from the trend of changes in organic farming in Latvia and in the EU, where both the number of organic farms and their area increased, with the simultaneous development of the organic food market. There are many indications that mistakes were made in the organic farming subsidy system

Sustainability assessment of agricultural production: Case study of latvian crop sector

The concept of sustainability in agricultural production is characterised by three interrelated dimensions: environmental sustainability; economic sustainability; and social sustainability. Research studies are needed to understand what the specific characteristics of each dimension are and how they interact in time and space. The aim of this research is to make a sustainability assessment of agricultural production in the crop sector in Latvia. In the paper, the authors have compiled existing studies that have tried to include all the three dimensions of sustainability analysis and to provide explanations of factors determining sustainable agricultural production. It was concluded that some agricultural development indicators pointed to the challenges of meeting sustainable economic development objectives in agricultural production. The results showed that this development of agricultural production in the crop sector took place at the expense of natural capital impairment, as the environmental sustainability index had fallen from a neutral value of 0 to a negative value of -0.25 during the last decade. Activity data characterising the production practices of crop farms pointed to a non-sustainable farming system, where the intensity of exploitation of production resources of fossil origin had essentially increased.</p

Sustainability assessment of agricultural production: Case study of latvian crop sector

<p>The concept of sustainability in agricultural production is characterised by three interrelated dimensions: environmental sustainability; economic sustainability; and social sustainability. Research studies are needed to understand what the specific characteristics of each dimension are and how they interact in time and space. The aim of this research is to make a sustainability assessment of agricultural production in the crop sector in Latvia. In the paper, the authors have compiled existing studies that have tried to include all the three dimensions of sustainability analysis and to provide explanations of factors determining sustainable agricultural production. It was concluded that some agricultural development indicators pointed to the challenges of meeting sustainable economic development objectives in agricultural production. The results showed that this development of agricultural production in the crop sector took place at the expense of natural capital impairment, as the environmental sustainability index had fallen from a neutral value of 0 to a negative value of -0.25 during the last decade. Activity data characterising the production practices of crop farms pointed to a non-sustainable farming system, where the intensity of exploitation of production resources of fossil origin had essentially increased.</p

Sustainability assessment of agricultural production: Case study of latvian crop sector

<p>The concept of sustainability in agricultural production is characterised by three interrelated dimensions: environmental sustainability; economic sustainability; and social sustainability. Research studies are needed to understand what the specific characteristics of each dimension are and how they interact in time and space. The aim of this research is to make a sustainability assessment of agricultural production in the crop sector in Latvia. In the paper, the authors have compiled existing studies that have tried to include all the three dimensions of sustainability analysis and to provide explanations of factors determining sustainable agricultural production. It was concluded that some agricultural development indicators pointed to the challenges of meeting sustainable economic development objectives in agricultural production. The results showed that this development of agricultural production in the crop sector took place at the expense of natural capital impairment, as the environmental sustainability index had fallen from a neutral value of 0 to a negative value of -0.25 during the last decade. Activity data characterising the production practices of crop farms pointed to a non-sustainable farming system, where the intensity of exploitation of production resources of fossil origin had essentially increased.</p