SUPPORT TOOLS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ORGANIC PRODUCE IN LATVIA

Abstract

Organic farming is part of the national economy where renewable natural resources are used in a sustainable and prudent way in the production process, and therefore the production of primary products is environmentally friendly. Latvia has high potential for growth on the basis of the EU as a whole – in 2016, the area of organically certified territories totalled 270.73 thousand hectares, or about 11% of the total agricultural land area, which was the fifth highest indicator among the EU Member States. The aim of the research is to analyse the availability of support tools for the organic farming sector and ways to improve their use efficiency. The available support tools contribute to increase in the number of organic farms and in the organic agricultural area as well as increase in productivity and a higher level of mechanisation. The development of organic processing and the provision of a complex production cycle are less important. Financial support for organic farming partially compensates for the loss of profits, but it does not include support measures directly addressing the problems faced by farmers – the availability of organic seed, certification fees, the availability of animal breeds and public awareness.

Keywords: organic farming, support tools, sustainability

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.138