To protect their population during pandemic outbreak, countries apply several preventive restrictions and even shut down their economies to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Since food supply chains in developed countries are complicated and dependent on their external suppliers, these restrictions cause not only economic but also social tension. The limited access to raw materials, packaging material and labour force result in the increasing prices of food products, which forces the population to refuse from quality food products. In the European Union food supply chains, which are negatively affected by protectionist elements and COVID-19 restrictions, the room for manoeuvre of Latvia’s small open economy is limited. The current paper analyses the impact of COVID-19 crisis on global food industry, providing a deeper insight into the case study of Latvia meat supply chains’ experience in overcoming pandemic risks. The research outcomes lead to the conclusion that although COVID-19 impact during first breakout has not caused unexpected and serious consequences for the meat sector companies, the main internal and external risks are associated with further uncertainty and instability in the EU markets. Based on extensive analysis of meat sector specifics, the authors have summarized the recommendations for meat sector companies to better prepare for further potential pandemic situations. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01257 Full Text: PDF

Abstract-Agricultural land is critically important, but limited resource for production of agricultural goods. Therefore, it is essential to exploit agricultural land efficiently to provide the planet's growing population with food. We evaluated how efficient is utilization of the agricultural land in a northern country called Latvia. Based on statistical data at micro level, we evaluated inefficiently exploited areas that potentially might be available for the production of agricultural products. It is discovered that in 2013 as much as 37% (or 874.4 thousand hectares) of utilized agricultural area were not efficiently exploited in the country. The reasons for ineffective use are described and production potential is evaluated.Index Terms-Agricultural land utilization, land availability, efficiency.

Abstract. Milk production is the second most important agricultural sector in Latvia with 17.7 % in the distribution of agricultural final products in 2015. However, the proportion of milk production decreased by 5.3 percentage points in comparison with 2014, reaching the lowest proportion recorded. The agriculture of Latvia depends on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that continuously changes and is reformed. The European Union (EU) decision makers have traditionally used the results of a wide range of quantitative tools in framing their choices among alternative policy instruments. To do it, it is necessary to make long-term projections for the sector. Modelling is a way of solving problems that occur in the real world. There are two important motivations for agricultural model development; 1) scientific understanding; 2) decision making or policy support. In 2016, the Latvia University of Agriculture developed the Latvian Agricultural Sector Analysis Model to simulate the development of agriculture and its key sectors for the period until 2050. The present paper reflects part of the research results -a simulation of dairy farming and a projection made for it. The following factors were taken into account when simulating the dairy sector of Latvia: commercial sales of milk, consumption of milk for food, consumption of milk for feed, milk prices, milk yields, the number of dairy cows, costs (total, as well as feed, labour and investment costs and depreciation expense), and the produced projection is useful for making policies and applying special support instruments.Keywords: dairy farming, projections, modelling. IntroductionMilk production is the second most important agricultural sector in Latvia with 17.7 % in the distribution of agricultural final products in 2015. However, the proportion of milk production decreased by 5.3 percentage points in comparison with 2014, reaching the lowest proportion recorded. In the period 2007-2014, milk production accounted for on average 21.4 % of the total value of agricultural commodities in Latvia [1]. That was under the conditions when, on the one hand, the global demand for dairy products rose, while, on the other hand, there was a complicated situation in the European market related to abolishment of milk quotas and Russia's imposed embargo. The dairy sector developed in Latvia, and it provided jobs and stabilised the economies of rural territories [2]. The current low prices for dairy commodities and milk are mainly the result of a surge in the world and EU supply at a time when China has started to reduce its purchases and Russia has introduced an import ban. However, the import demand from other regions of the world has risen significantly and is expected to grow steadily over the outlook period, driven by population growth and a change in diets in favour of dairy products. In addition, Chinese imports should resume growth [3]. Since 2004, the agriculture of Latvia has depended on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and changes in it. For this reason, it is i...

The purpose of this study is to reveal the methodological aspects of teaching the disciplines that are basic in the system of training an engineer for modern agricultural production, in particular during the lecture sessions. The paper presents the basic requirements for the modern teacher who teaches special disciplines, training an engineer in the field of agricultural mechanisation. Emphasis is placed on theoretical aspects, as well on the results of the acquisition and generalisation of practical experience in pedagogy in order to raise the efficiency of mastering the material by the students during the lectures. Attention is centred on the topical problem how to develop the professional activity of the teacher. Analysis is made of all the stages of consecutive development of the pedagogical activity: highly professional understanding of the subject, pedagogical professionalism, and pedagogical innovation in training the future engineers in the field of agricultural mechanisation. The results of the study will allow a conclusion that the effect of the lecture on technical disciplines depends on the logical lines selected by the teacher (inductive, deductive, traditions; during the transfer of power; from the basic part; during the technological or physiological process). The pedagogical skills of a teacher at a higher agricultural educational institution are based not only on a high professional level, but also on his overall culture. Pedagogical activity must be learned, one must purposefully acquire the positive teaching experience, constantly replenish the stock of knowledge with contemporary psychological and pedagogical ideas.

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The European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) affects the development of the agricultural industry and rural areas in all the Member States. A very important role is played by various support payments as one of the policy instruments. The CAP has been developing and is being reformed; therefore, it is important to assess the effect of various CAP support instruments on the development of the agricultural industry. Therefore, the research aim is to assess the support instruments and kinds of support as well as their effects on selected agricultural indicators. The research study proceeds in three stages or phases: first, the identification of the total amount of support payments paid and the key kinds of support; second, a detailed analysis of the key kinds of support; third, the identification of associations between the amounts of support payments and other agricultural and farm performance indicators. The research found that in the period 2005 -2014 in Latvia, the total amount of support amounted to EUR 4.3 billion, of which EUR 520 million or 12% were received by approximately 1000 FADN farms. The most significant kinds of financial support in Latvia were direct payments, accounting for 47% of the total amount of support and financial assistance provided for rural development with 39%. The total amount of financial support and the amount of area-based payments affected the key agricultural indicators as well.

In the European Union, including Latvia, the development of the bioeconomy by exploiting the potential of research, innovation and knowledge transfer is considered to be the basis for economic growth. The research aims to assess the drivers of and barriers to bioeconomic development in Latvia and define actions facilitating the development of the national bioeconomy. The present research employed mostly SWOT analysis in combination with expert judgement. The research concluded that the overall trend in the following strengths of the bioeconomy: Research infrastructure and modern technical equipment for the development of the bioeconomic knowledge base (3S) and Vast regional coverage of and cooperation among leading research institutions in the field of bioeconomics (1S) was negative, as the total impact of the threats exceeded the total impact of the opportunities. However, the overall trend in the strength Extensive initial activities and the knowledge base for bioeconomic research (2S) was positive, as the total impact of the opportunities exceeded the total impact of the threats. The total impact of exogenous factors on the weaknesses in the development of the bioeconomy was positive; therefore, the total impact of exogenous factors tended to weaken the weaknesses. Since the largest positive impacts on endogenous factors were made by the following opportunities: Effective support for independent innovation projects implemented by large companies (3O) and Stimulation of innovation in the small and medium enterprise sector in active synergy with national research priorities and available funding (2IO), it is necessary to increase government and private sector funding for R&D in order to contribute to the development of the bioeconomy in Latvia. The availability of funding should be balanced and predictable in the long term to reduce the impact of the threat Public policies and insufficient and unpredictable funding for research and development hinder the development of bioeconomy industries and steady growth opportunities (2T). To encourage the business sector to invest in R&D, including in the bioeconomy industries, public support and various incentives for entrepreneurs are needed.

The European Union faces a challenge to increase the production of domestic protein crops in order to lower its economic dependence on imports of protein crops, soybeans in particular, and the fluctuation of global prices on food. To solve the problem of self-sufficiency of protein in the EU, encompassing all the agro-climatic zones typical of European agriculture and all-level supply chains at the EU level, increasing the output of domestic protein crops, including legumes (faba beans, peas, lupine, soybeans etc.) has been set as a strategic goal. The research examined the kinds of protein crops used for feed and the self-sufficiency of the crops in the EU. The research examined the area under legumes for seeds, the yields and the protein yields of the crops in Latvia. The research aim is to examine the key characteristics of production of feed legumes in Latvia. To achieve the aim, the following specific research tasks are defined: 1) to examine the characteristics of production of protein feed crops in the EU Member States; 2) to analyse legume production performance indictors in Latvia.