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FACTORS AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL LAND USE: THE CASE OF LATVIA
Abstract
Agricultural land is an important natural resource exploited for agricultural production to provide food for the population. The pressure on agricultural resources has increased in the world, as the population grows and non-food land uses increase. In Latvia, the utilized agricultural area (UAA) has decreased since 1991, and in 2020 it was 2.3 mln. ha or 36% of the total area of the country, while the forest area increased, and in 2020 it was 3.1 mln. ha or 48% of the total area. In 2019 in Latvia, the unfarmed and overgrown area, which was not used for productive agricultural production, totaled 256 thou. ha. Therefore, the overall aim of the present research is to assess the current use of and exploitation potential for the agricultural area, the factors hindering access to agricultural land as well as relevant national support programs in Latvia. The present research analyzed opportunities for using a part of the unfarmed and overgrown agricultural area for agricultural production in the future, assessing the classification and quality characteristics of the agricultural land ? soil types, agricultural land qualitative estimates (in points) and the area ameliorated. To identify the accessibility of agricultural land, the research analyzed arable land and agricultural land prices and land rents in Latvia. To reduce the shortcomings caused by the market, taking into account the importance of agricultural land as the main natural resource in Latvia, the following national support programs for increasing the accessibility of agricultural land were analyzed: the Lending Program for Land Acquisition and the Land Fund of Latvia.
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References15
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