Small farms: the potential of social farming for social inclusion in Latvia

Abstract

Latvia is characterized by a large number of small farms with significant economic and social disparities, which also have a territorial impact. Small farm output and incomes are relatively small, contributing to social stratification. Multifunctionality, a core issue in the EU agricultural and rural development agenda, refers to the different functions that agriculture fulfils in society. In several European countries care farms (social farming) develop idea of multifunctional agriculture by organizing social services on the local level. Social farming covers at least three dynamic areas of society - rural development, social entrepreneurship and the growing demand for social care services, it is closely linked to the concept of multifunctional agriculture. Foreign experience shows that social care farms have good social entrepreneurship potential for small farms, but in Latvia it has not been sufficiently assessed. The results of the survey (2018) suggest that not all local action groups (LAGs) can assess the impact of project implementation on territorial development, the situation of different population groups. The LAGs are more oriented towards economically and socially active people, the work with socially disadvantaged groups is complicated, and so their interests and needs are often ignored. The research was supported by the project ‘Ready for change? Sustainable management of common natural resources’ funded by the Latvian Council of Science (Nr. lzp-2019/1-0319).