Forest Ecosystem Services in Latvia: Assessing of Experience and Tendencies

Today, more than 70% of people live in and around cities. Existing urban and regional food systems are unsustainable and society expects and demands change. In order to help prevent and reduce food waste, reduce the environmental impact of food production and food waste, and promote access to healthy food for all, it is essential to design and develop smart, food-oriented food chains. Therefore, the involvement of local entrepreneurs, municipalities and citizens in the development of the food security ecosystem of cities and regions is important. Involvement in local food supply chains allows businesses to increase the added value of their products and make farmers less vulnerable to market risks by reducing the number of intermediaries through diversification and better price control, guaranteeing less asymmetric relationships with customers. Municipalities promote the consumption of quality products through green public procurement of food and thus reduce the risk of obesity and chronic diseases, but in the long run the costs of health care. In Latvia, according to the data of 2019, only 3% of biologically certified farms sold their products through public procurement, incl. purchase of school catering. The aim of this study is to identify barriers and possible solutions for increasing the share of local organic food purchased by mainstream schools. The study finds that the role of local organic food in green public procurement and its impact on territorial development is linked to environmental, social and economic benefits. The main obstacles to participating in GPP tenders and winning the tender were: 1) the quantity and range of products required (division of goods into lots), as well as the purchase prices of organic products; 2) high bureaucratic burden for "small" producers, complex Electronic Procurement System and tender submission criteria; 3 cal organic food is more expensive than imported; 4) limited financial resources; 5) insufficient amount of food produced.There were significant communication gaps between stakeholders regarding GPP, as well as a lack of knowledge about the organic market and how to implement GPP.

Section: Factors Determining the Level Of Ghg Emissions From Agricult...mentioning

confidence: 99%

23rd International Scientific Conference. “Economic Science for Rural Development 2022” No 56 Circular Economy: Climate Change, Environmental Aspect, Cooperation, Supply Chains, Efficiency of Production Process and Competitive of Companies, Integrated and Sustainable Regional Development, New Dimensions in the Development of Society, Rural Development and Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Bioeconomy

2022

“…In Europe, there is an afforestation of agricultural land, and production is concentrated on better soils (Danilowska, 2019;Daugaviete et. al., 2020;Feldmanis, Pilvere, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Feldmanis & Pilvere, 2021). Striving to reduce production without structural changes leads to decreased output per unit of direct energy input.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy productivity in agriculture in EU countries – directions and dynamics

Wicka,

Wicki

2023

The productivity of inputs, especially energy, is a subject of interest in many countries, including the countries of the European Union and the EU itself. To achieve a more sustainable economy, the EU launched the European Green Deal, a development strategy to transform the EU into a zero-emission economy. The study aims to assess changes in the productivity of energy inputs in agriculture in EU countries in connection with the changes in the volume of production and energy inputs. Based on Eurostat data, changes for the period 2010-2020 were determined. It was found that agricultural production in the EU-27 increased by 1.36%, while the amount of energy used in agriculture increased by as much as 12%. As a result, energy productivity decreased by as much as 10% from EUR 360,000 to EUR 325,000 per 1 TJ of energy input. A decrease in energy productivity was observed in 20 of the 27 countries surveyed. On average, production or energy use volume changes in particular countries were not large and did not exceed 5% in the analysed period. An increase in the efficiency of energy use in agriculture is possible through rational concentration of production, mechanization and introduction of innovations in production technologies. The phenomenon of emission leakage outside the EU and large imports of food should be avoided, as the efficiency of energy use in agriculture in the EU is higher than in less developed countries. Achieving a reduction in energy consumption in agriculture seems to be difficult to reconcile with maintaining production volumes.

Is the EU agriculture becoming low-carbon? Trends in the intensity of GHG emissions from agricultural production

Wicki¹

2022

GHG emissions from agriculture account for as much as 18% of the total human related emissions. In Europe, it is 12%. To reduce overall emissions, it is also necessary to reduce them from agricultural production. The study aims to assess the size and dynamics of changes in emissions from agriculture in EU countries. Based on FAO data, a trend in 1999–2019 was determined. It was also assessed how the level of emissions changed per production unit, including the extent to which these changes resulted from changes in the production volume and to what extent from the improvement of the production techniques. Overall, production increased by about 0.8% during the period under review, and GHG emissions decreased by 10.8% to 587 Mt CO2 eq. As a result, the emission intensity decreased by 11.5% from 1.74 to 1.54 kg CO2 eq. per 1 Int. $. There were differences in reducing emissions per unit of production between countries. The emissions per unit decreased more in the NMS with less developed agriculture, which has more significant potential to improve produc tion techniques. In more developed countries, changes were minor, and some even increased emissions per production unit. The main factor in reducing the emission intensity by 0.2 kg CO2 eq. per 1 Int. $ was the introduction of better production techniques with a 74% share in this change; to a lesser extent, it was possi ble through better use of energy in farms (26% share). Further reduction of the emission intensity will be relatively small. It may result from the regional intensifi cation of agriculture, the increase in production scale, and the higher level of mechanization. A more signifi cant reduction of emissions will require a reduction of production and changes in its structure, mainly limiting the production of cattle and milk and thus changes in the level and food consumption structure.