Rural Support Service Research Articles

GIS-Based Interactive Map to Improve Scheduling Beekeeping Activities

This research work presents a developed geographic information system-based interactive map application to support beekeeping activities. The interactive map includes various features such as flowering calendar, weather information, and information about plants, and has the option to link the hives with remote monitoring system data observation. Data about the actual plants and areas are taken from the Latvian geographic information system (GIS) provided by the Rural Support Service of Latvia. Plants flowering data are prepared manually, based on agronomy data and flowering simulation throughout the year the data are developed and presented to the beekeepers. The developed flowering simulation provides an overview of the flowering plants in a specific region and at a certain time. This information can be used in various ways, including usage by the migratory beekeepers for selection and planning of potential foraging locations, other agricultural specialists, and the general public for educational needs. Free software environment for statistical computing and graphics R was used for the development of the solution. The interactive map application can be extended by different models, additional factors and parameters can be implemented to increase its potential application. This work was conducted within the Horizon 2020 FET project HIVEOPOLIS (Nr. 824069).

Lauksaimniecības produktu pašnodrošinājums Latvijā

Agriculture plays a major role in ensuring the existence of humanity. Today, the agricultural industry is playing an increasingly important role as farmers not only supply food to the world's population but also provide some people with jobs, particularly in rural areas, and protect and develop the rural landscape, without which we cannot imagine our world. Food production is one of the most important prerequisites for agriculture, yet the problem is whether the agricultural output in Latvia is able to meet the demand for food by the country's population in relation to the main food groups. The research aims to examine the self-sufficiency of agricultural products in Latvia. The research is based on annual agricultural reports and statistics for the period of 2011-2018 provided by the Rural Support Service. The key research results reveal that the output significantly exceeds consumption for some food groups, yet there are some agricultural products that highly depend on import.

Economic aspects of lfa and organic farming payments in Latvia

Less favoured area (LFA) payments and organic farming (OF) payments represent a third of all public funding available for RDP 2007–2013 in Latvia and are used by about two- thirds of all farms. The aim of the study is to assess the economic impact of LFA and OF payments. The data from Rural Support Service, FADN and statistics of agricultural sector were used to conduct the study. A group of farms receiving support payments was compared with a group without this kind of support, in order to evaluate the impact of support payments. The results show that LFA payments have facilitated a significant income growth, especially for small farms. They have also contributed to more intense use of the land. Since OF support has not contributed enough to the agricultural production, direct payments to production will increase economic impact of support payments.

Bioenergy: impact of rural development support measures in Latvia

The Latvian RDP 2007–2013 targets renewable energy production from biomass of agricultural and forestry origins, where a total investment of EUR 45 million is predicted; besides, there are also additional opportunities for support of renewable energies in the farm modernization measures. The purpose of the study presented in the paper is to evaluate the support under the RDP 2007-2013 measures provided for the bioenergy production in Latvia by studying its tools, results and impacts. The main materials used for the studies are as follows: published and unpublished data from Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB) and Latvian Rural Support Service (RSS). The results show the support granted to biogas plants has been significant as it constituted almost half of the total support paid to the rural economic diversification measures in Latvia by 2014. Moreover, biogas plant projects were realized by the wealthy agricultural producers and are located in most productive agricultural Latvian regions, which contradict the aim of RDP. Despite the rapid increase in the amount of biogas (bioelectricity) produced, mainly due to the generous public support, as well as the fast development of the production of biomass (fuelwood), the total bioenergy consumption in Latvia is still below the target. Furthermore, the development of fuelwood production mainly contributes to meeting the RES targets in other countries, not Latvia, as it is mostly export oriented.

IMPACTS OF BIOENERGY ON AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CHANGES IN LATVIA

The European Union (EU) legislative framework regarding bioenergy aims to ensure the use of sustainable biomass without negative impact on land use. Latvia has also developed the national policy and the support programmes which encourage increasing cultivation of energy plants for biomass feedstocks: 1) rapeseed production for biodiesel production; and 2) maize for silage as feedstock in the biogas production. The paper presents results of studies devoted to evaluation of bioenergy crops’ impact on usage changes of agricultural land in Latvia. The period of 2007-2012 was chosen for assessment of land use changes. Mainly data on declared utilised agricultural area on municipal and region level from the Rural Support Service were used in the research. The results show growing trends and share of areas of utilised agricultural area (UAA) which are used for bioenergy feedstocks production - rape and maize for silage. These areas are chiefly located in the territories/ regions (Zemgale and Kurzeme) which have the highest proportion of agricultural lands and the highest soil fertility in Latvia. The biogas plants are also located in these territories. Meanwhile, slight but decreasing tendency of the share of unused UAA in all regions, except Latgale, was observed. Moreover, the share in Latgale, the most undeveloped region, increases and it reached 18% in 2012. The observed agricultural land use changes in Latvia suggest some contradictions to bioenergy policy which is oriented to: returning the unused agricultural land in the production of feedstocks; and improving the quality of the environment, particularly, biodiversity and the landscape.

IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION OF STRATEGIES OF LOCAL ACTION GROUPS IN LATVIA

The present research on local action groups (LAGs) in Latvia was performed within the measure “Analysis of LAG Activity and the Restoration of the LEADER Manual” for the National Rural Network of the Latvian Rural Advisory and Training Centre Ltd. A local action group or partnership is an association of local organisations and rural residents that operates in a certain rural area with the number of population ranging from 5 to 65 thousand, represents interests of this territory, and takes care of rural development issues at the local level. The research aim is to evaluate the strategy introduced by LAGs for 2009-2013 and work out suggestions for its improvement. The local development strategy of LAGs is implemented in the form of projects, and it is possible to attract financial support from measures co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) for its implementation in the period 2009-2013. The monographic and descriptive methods as well as analysis and synthesis, the graphical method, documentary analysis, data grouping, and sociological methods were extensively employed in the present research. It is based on analysis results of LAG strategies, data of the Rural Support Service (RSS), summarised results of a questionnaire survey and interviews of LAG representatives, survey results of residents living in LAG territories, as well as other publicly available documents. After completing the present research, it was concluded that in Latvia, the majority of LAG project submitters who participate in implementing LAG strategies were associations, local governments and limited liability companies, farms, and others. The project submitters surveyed pointed to key problems that arise in developing a project according to a LAG strategy. They are: filling in economic data, tables; defining goals and structuring a strategy; understanding the following terms: strategy, action, activity etc.; lack of experience. The territorial distribution of LAG projects is not even and perfect, and the main reasons for this problem are: a decrease in the number of residents, the lack of active residents, a large distance from the territory to its centre, no information is available to residents, the reluctance of residents to take financial liabilities and responsibly after a project is implemented, no residents having innovative and good ideas live in a certain territory. Activities to be introduced to engage young people in implementing the strategy are mainly set in the LAG strategies, and special activities for implementing youth projects are outlined. Instead of mostly creating real jobs for young people, they are mainly engaged in voluntary work to clean up a recreational site, look after equipment, and engage others thinking the same way. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.eis.0.6.1501

An investigation into the perceived sanitation challenges in the Eastern Cape rural communities

There is a dearth of information on studies that have sought to examine qualitatively the sanitation challenges that rural communities experience.
 
 Opsomming
 Kwalitatiewe navorsing is gedoen om die strukturele, ekonomiese, opvoedkundige, sosiale en tegnologiese uitdagings wat landelike gemeenskappe van die Oos-Kaap met betrekking tot sanitasie in die gesig staar, te ondersoek.
 
 *Please note: This is a reduced version of the abstract. Please refer to PDF for full text.

Ports in a Storm: A Postnatal Depression Rural Support Services Project

This nine-month action-research project was conducted in 1996 by NEWomen Goulburn North-Eastern Women's Health Service and aimed to improve the system of services and support for women suffering postnatal depression (PND) in the Wangaratta district. The challenge was to influence existing mainstream and community service providers to bring about an effective system of service provision. The project included research, consultation and community education. Major findings were that PND was under-detected in some instances through inadequate knowledge and detection skills. Some women with PND experienced difficulty in receiving suitable services in a co-ordinated and timely way. Important outcomes were the review of the existing service system and consequent improvements. Working relations, co-operation and networking between various services were enhanced, as through the Project, providers supported: establishing a PND self-help group; distributing a PND information brochure; training recovered women to provide volunteer home-visiting support to women experiencing depression; trialing a 'screening' and co-ordinated referral approach and identifying good practice models. Another significant outcome was the opportunity for personal development as women participated in the project as interviewees, media commentators, support group members and home-visiting trainees. This paper highlights developments and ongoing challenges since the 1996 project.

Reply to comments by Erika Joubert on behalf of Rural Support Services regarding ‘A new rural dispensation? An examination of community development, public works programmes and land resettlement at RA 60 in the Whittlesea district’

Reply to comments by Erika Joubert on behalf of Rural Support Services regarding ‘A new rural dispensation? An examination of community development, public works programmes and land resettlement at RA 60 in the Whittlesea district’