Family farms in Lithuania: Problems and challenges

Abstract

The paper aims to analyse the situation of family farms in Lithuania regarding essential problems and challenges. Family farming in Lithuania remains new phenomena in a period after gaining independence after the 1990s. Family farms are very important for Lithuanian rural areas as they create the main job places and income for the citizens. The need to analyse the situation about family farms in Lithuania remains on the problems disclosed in the research. It could be named as lack of legal acts concerning family business, poor managerial traditions of family farming comparing with other EU countries, lack of financial resources for innovative growth, poor family business including family farming culture and lack of values keeping families together, lack of interest of family farmers in diversified activities including social entrepreneurship in rural areas. The grounded solutions and suggestions how to improve situation in rural areas for family farmers are needed. One of the suggestions in this paper about the situation is diversified family farms activity with additional innovative activities and deeper involvement of young farmers in the family business. Social entrepreneurship could be a possible solution for family farms in rural areas.