Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs) have established in parallel to conventional food chains, playing a key role in the emerging food networks that are continuously arising as an alternative to the globalized agri-food model. The diversities and particularities of the experiences existing all over the world (box schemes, farmers’ markets,...

The Baltic EcoMussel project aims to accelerate the adoption of mussel farming in the Baltic Sea Region by providing information and tools to support investments. Recent research shows that commercial farming of mussels in the Baltic Sea Region can be viable and offers socio-economic and environmental benefits. Commercial farming of...

Domestic and donor-driven development agendas for African agriculture are spurring smallholder family farming as a catalyst for food security and poverty reduction. Family farms are also the backbone of agriculture in the European Union, although the process of concentration has gone further than in Africa. European agricultural policy reforms now...

All businesses need to innovate if they are to thrive, and family farms are no exception. By thinking ahead and developing new approaches, farmers can increase output, develop new and improved products, diversify and tap into new income streams, and remain environmentally sustainable. Innovative farms are more likely to weather...

13 farmers’ organizations from eight countries within the Baltic Farmers’ Forum on the Environment (BFFE) present their contribution for sustainable farming around the Baltic Sea. Farmers are aware of their key role in water management in light of the sensitive Baltic Sea, and as part of the overall sustainable development...

Agriculture and rural life seem to have found the right appeal for Europe's young people between 17 and 20 years of age, especially among those living in rural areas and who have had work experience in a farm. This is the key result of the survey carried out by the...

The target group for the questionnaire, developed by Latvian National Rural Network (NRN) were rural inhabitants. Latvian NRN chose two ways to collect the necessary information – via questionnaire on NRN’s internet home page www.laukutikls.lv (264 respondents) and by organizing open discussions in different regions of Latvia (48 discussions). In...

Latvian farmers propose traditional farming practices, healthy living, and preventative health care values to locals and tourists in order to improve human and environment health. The Eco-Health Farms (EHF) model was created in the 90’s by Mara Bergmane, her husband Dainis Bergmanis and Latvian colleagues, in order to address three key...

Structural changes in agriculture have been going on in many countries all over the world during the last two decades. Developments were forced by radical reforms of countries concerned resulting in to establishing new farm structure. Large scale farm systems were broken up and tens of millions of small farms...

This study targets social capital development possibilities in the rural territories of Latvia, and focuses on its inhabitants' public activities. Private property was restored more than 10 years ago, and since then the number of public organisations has sharply increased. These organisations offer the chance to solve several problems. The...

In this article it is developed, based on existing data and post-socialism discourse, a theoretical perspective on the research into the privatization of agriculture in the Baltic republics. As much as estate ownership in the 19th century, small farming established in sweeping land reforms characterized Baltic agriculture between the World Wars....