Scholarly record
SUSTAINABLE PRIMARY FOOD PRODUCTION IN LATVIA
Abstract
The urgency of sustainable development in the world requires seeking solutions to chronic problems of a number of the past decades. Several of the problems are associated with the environment and food supply. The current food supply system was based on conventional farming, yet such food was produced making negative environmental impacts. Organic primary food production is an alternative to the system, which is based on organic farms, the number of and the land area managed by which have considerably increased. In Latvia, 3500 organic farms were registered, which managed 11% of the total agricultural area. Most organic food products were produced from organic grain, potato, milk and meat. Under the organic farming system, support payments were the key motivator; however, the eligibility criteria have to be changed, and the production of quality products at a reasonable cost has to be the key factor influencing agricultural activity. Unfortunately, the authors found that profit-making is a dominant factor for those engaged in organic farming, yet it is mainly based on receiving support payments. The introduction of new techniques and technologies has to be more important for the purpose of reorienting the organic food production system from the kind of farming dependent on financial support to a system of production of quality and healthy food.
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References15
Bruinsma J. World agriculture: towards 2015/2030. An FAO perspective. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/London: Earthscan, 2003.
Ponisio LC, M'Gonigle LK, Mace KC, Palomino J, Valpine P, Kremen C. Diversification practices reduce organic to conventional yield gap. In: Proceeding B, Volume 282 (1799), pp 1-7, 2015.
Transforming our world: the Agenda for Sustainable Development. United Nations A/RES/70/1
Ciccccarese L., Silli V. The role of organic farming for food security: Local nexus with a global view. In: Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society. Volume 4 (1), pp 56-57, 2016.
Berti G., Mulligan C. Competitiveness of small farms and innovative food supply chains: The role of food hubs in creating sustainable regional and local food systems. In: Sustainability (Switzerland). Volume 8 (7), pp 31, 2016.
Berzins A., Valcina O. Local Food Systems in Latvian. Riga; 2014.
Martinez S, et al. Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts and Issues. E.-U. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Washington, 2010, pp 80.
Tuomisto H.L., Hodge L.D., Riordan P., Macdonald D.W. Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? A meta-analysis of European research. Journal of Environmental Management (112), pp 309-320, 2012.
Mundler P., Laughrea S. The contributions of short food supply chains to territorial development: A study of three Quebec territories. In: Journal of Rural Studies 45, 2016, pp 218-229.
Reganold J., Taji A., Kristiansen P., CSIRO P. Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective [e-book]. Collingwood, Vic: CSIRO Publishing; 2006. Available from: eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost), Ipswich, MA.
Roberts J. Organic Agriculture: Protecting Our Food Supply or Chasing Imaginary Risks? [e-book]. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group; 2012. Available from: eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost), Ipswich, MA.
Holt A.R., Alix A., Thompson A., Maltby L. Food production, ecosystem services and biodiversity: We can’t have it all everywhere. In: Science of the Total Environment. Volume 573, pp 1422-1429, 2016.
Gorton M., Salvioni C., Hubbard C. Semi-subsistence Farms and Alternative Food Supply Chains. In: EuroChoices Volume 13 (1), pp15-19, 2014.
Tilman D., Clark M. Food, Agriculture & the Environment: Can We Feed the World & Save the Earth? In: MIT PRESS, ONE ROGERS ST, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02142-1209 USA, FAL 2015. Volume 144 (4), pp 8-23, 2015.
Casagrande M., Peigne J. et.al. Organic farmers’ motivations and challenges for adopting conservation agriculture in Europe. In: Organic Agriculture. Volume 6 (4), pp 281-295, 2016.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
