The content of carbohydrates (fructose, glucose, and sucrose) and organic acids (citric acid, succinic acid, malic acid, sorbic acid, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)) in organically grown vegetables (carrots, parsnips, celeriacs, and red beets) and dried vegetable products were analyzed by the HPLC reverse phase and ion exchange methods. The main carbohydrate detected in fresh vegetables invariably was sucrose (1.29 – 11.17 g 100 gE-1). Fructose and glucose were found in similar ranges (0.09 – 2.47 g 100 gE-1, 0.14 – 3.02 g 100 gE-1 respectively). A similar distribution of carbohydrates was determined in dried products. The highest fructose and glucose contents were found in fresh carrots - 2.47 g 100 gE-1 and 3.02 g 100 gE-1 respectively; but in dried carrot products – 14.53 g 100 gE-1 and 15.43 g 100 gE-1. High amounts of sucrose were found in red beets: 11.17 g 100 gE-1 in fresh samples, and 48.50 g 100 gE-1 in dried products. Malic and citric acids were detected as the main acids of fresh vegetables. Highest citric acid amount was in red beets (266.19 mg 100 gE-1), whereas celeriacs and parsnips had a high malic acid content. The results from this study demonstrated variability and concentration range of carbohydrates and organic acids, wherewith the organoleptic profile of the products. Dried products are considered as a good source of energy.

Both the rowanberries (Sorbus) and the chokeberries (Aronia) belong to the family Rosaceae. The berries of these cultivars are suitable for production of health-food products. The main components in the dry matter of fruits are carbohydrates, primarily sugars. The aim of this experiment was to determine the content of simple sugars and sorbitol in different fresh rowanberry cultivars and chokeberries and to compare the composition of these compounds after freezing and thawing of berries. The experiments were done in the Customs laboratory of the National Customs Board, State Revenue Service (Latvia). The rowanberries were picked in the Pure Horticultural Research centre, and black chokeberries were obtained from farm 'Ceplīši' (rural municipality of Pure). The contents of dry matter and soluble solids were analyzed in fresh berries, and the contents of sugars and sorbitol were analyzed both in fresh berries and in berries after freezing and thawing of 13 different cultivars of rowanberries and one black chokeberry. For determination of the soluble solids content, the refractometric method was used, and for determination of the glucose, fructose, sucrose and sorbitol content, high performance liquid chromatography was used. The results showed that rowanberries and chokeberries contained 3.24-7.24 g 100 gE-1 of sorbitol which was the dominant compound in all investigated berries. The highest content of sorbitol was found in the wild rowanberries and rowanberries Sorbus aucuparia var. sibirica, but fruits of rowanberry×pear 'Alaya Krupnaya' contained the least content of sorbitol. After freezing and thawing of berries, the content of sugars and sorbitol were decreased by 5-23% with some exclusion.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate all kinds of experiences with attractive EU funding for Latvia's private forest sector in the past and to generate new proposals for effective acquisition in near future. Latvian institution may learn from these experiences in order to improve their (acquisition) role in project proposals for the private forest sector. Consequently, the relatively underdeveloped Latvian private forest sector will get its highly needed support for better performance, and progress towards other, leading EU forest sectors. The possibilities for attractive financial EU support are reviewed through both historic experiences with the EU's 'Rural Development Program for 2007 – 2013' and the EU grants, designated for forestry projects. An extensive round of interviews is held with state forest owners and experts involved in forest management programmes and other dedicated EU forest funding initiatives. Following the expert interviews, two key indicators are developed to evaluate the support from the EU. Contacts with the EU countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and Poland) where similar forestry activities have been done as in Latvia were made. Research done in this work is unique as according to the author's information these countries do not have similar research related to the EU funds efficiency and Rural Development Program for 2007 – 2013. The successfulness of Latvian applications for the EU funding is one major indicator for further fund raising. The EU supported investments generally have higher economic results in comparison with their non EU funded counterparts.

Reduction of agricultural production has led to abandonment of farmlands in Latvia. According to the Central Statistical Bureau, 1.4 million ha of lands, including 0.6 million ha of farmlands were set aside in 2008. Most of them transform into forests; however, information about the afforestation has been limited until recent years. The first field measurement based evaluation of forest stands on abandoned farmlands was implemented within the scope of the National statistical forest inventory (NSFI). The NSFI covers forests, farmlands, settlements, wetlands and other lands, providing valuable information about the land use and forest resources. According to the NSFI, total area of naturally afforested farmlands is 257,850 ± 3,606 ha with growing stock of 2,870.364 ± 239,088 m³. Naturally afforested lands occupy 4% of the total country area. The highest share of naturally afforested lands is in Ludza (11% of the total area) and Krāslava districts (9% of the total area). Birch (Betula pendula Roth) and grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) are the most common dominant tree species in naturally afforested areas (77,092 ± 1,861 ha and 40,285 ± 1,395 ha, respectively). In relation to the Kyoto protocol it is important to separate lands afforested before and after 1990. The total area of lands afforested after 1990 in Latvia is 170,890 ± 2,862 ha with total growing stock of 1,367.427 ± 125,482 m³ and annual increment of timber volume – 122,530 ± 10,513 m³.

One of the key factors affecting the formation of high-quality forest is thinning. Latvia's yearly budget of commercial thinning is not met; therefore, there are plenty of forests which are not thinned as planned and this leads to declining quality of forest stands. The timber processing industry needs significant excluded volume of timber, but forest owners are unable to maximize profits in future. Extensive logging of commercial thinning is hindered by economic factors and forestry regulations. Logging business is not satisfied with the productivity indicates and restricting forestry and environmental laws. The world's leading forest engineering firm offers a variety of forest harvester design and structural solutions. The first real use of commercial harvesters in commercial thinning in Latvia's conditions revealed several problems. The most important one is how to increase harvester productivity, while ensuring the quality of residual stands. To increase effectiveness of the logging machines and the proportion of commercial thinning, it is necessary to explore main factors affecting harvester productivity. This work aims to clarify the main pressures hampering harvester productivity and evaluate the quality of remaining trees in commercial thinning in Latvia. The main results are that during night productivity of harvester decreases by 12%, while marking trees to be cut down with fluorescent colour increases productivity of harvester at night by 15%. Productivity of harvester in thinning depends on average volume of harvested trees. These results of the work were obtained through various experiments on twelve different commercial thinning areas in Latvia.

The effect of growing conditions, age and stocking density on the amount of deadwood in the pine forest stands of Latvia was analyzed in this research. The material for studies was collected within the framework of the National Forest inventory of Latvia in the period 2004 to 2008. From databases of the National forest inventory the data about 1627 sample plots dominated by pine were selected and analysed. The total amount of deadwood (m3 haE-1) was compared among five forest edaphical rows - forests on dry mineral soils, forests on wet mineral soils, forests on wet peat soils, forests on drained mineral soils and forests on drained peat soils. Deadwood was also analysed in five age groups – young, middle age, premature, mature and over-mature stands, as well as in six groups of stocking density – small-density, sparse-density, middle-density, high-density, full-density and over-density stands. It was found out, that the growing conditions (p = 0.000 is less than α = 0.05), stand age (p = 0.000) and stocking density (p = 0.000) have significant influence on the amount of deadwood in pine forest stands. The highest amount of deadwood is in the pine stands on wet mineral soils – 18.6 ± 2.09 m3 haE-1. With increase of the stand age the amount of deadwood also increases and in the mature pine stands the amount of deadwood is 17.8 ± 1.58 m**3 haE-1. The amount of deadwood in the pine forest stands also increases with stocking density and in the over-density stands it is 21.6 ± 2.50 m**3 haE-1.

The urban forest is recognized as a potential to improve the quality of life of urban dwellers and increase the sustainability and ecological stability of the city. However, there is little data on professional attitude to urban naturalistic landscapes. This research studies the attitude of professionals and decision makers to the naturalistic forest landscapes in urban area of Riga city, Latvia, in contrast to more traditional – formal landscape. The survey includes the opinions of territorial planners and environment specialists from Riga municipality and other institutions related to ecological, practical, planning and conservation activities, and private working landscape architects. The statistical analysis and data’s empirical distribution showed that professionals in Riga city recognize the values and benefits of naturalistic forest landscape. However, environmental preferences may depend more on affective reactions than on ecologically-based logical operations.

The objectives of this study were to (1) describe the economic agents of the chain and their commercial and legal relationships; (2) identify the articulations between links, technological levels, indicators of efficiency, installed capacity (scale), and degrees of occupation; (3) characterize and estimate the costing and pricing structures, and the generation of value in different links of the chain; (4) identify those critical costs that can be modified through technological interventions, policy, or other activity; (5) determine the biological and economic risk factors throughout the chain; and (6) develop a methodology to identify and estimate the costs and benefits in each segment and evaluate the generation of value throughout the beef chain. Data at the farm level was obtained from a national livestock survey (CORFOGA 2005b), which provided data on production systems, inventories, productivity, culling, and labor. In addition, surveys were carried out in different segments: (1) auction houses, (2) slaughterhouses, (3) butcher shops, and (4) supermarkets. The aim of these surveys was to describe behavior, determine risks and costs, and identify problems. The weak dynamics of livestock production in Costa Rica are reflected in unsatisfactory productivity indicators. The annual gross income was estimated as US$44/ha for cow-calf operations, $126/ha for dual purpose (including income from milk sales), and $135/ha for fattening activities. Such income rates are considered extremely low, if one uses as reference the commercial value of land allocated to livestock production (ranging between $1000 and $2000/ha). The aforementioned biological inefficiencies, combined with high land costs, impede the recovery of opportunity costs for the capital invested in land, thus making beef production uncompetitive. The cow-calf operation, with its low productivity, remunerates family labor with wages below the legal minimum. On the assumption that the only cash cost is that of labor, cow-calf farms pay family workers at a wage that is equivalent to 60% of the legal minimum. Auctions present relatively good profits per event. However, when these profits are analyzed on a calendar-day basis, they are unattractive because of the low use of installed capacity. One strategy that would usefully improve the efficiency of the auction system in Costa Rica is its integration to reduce the number of fixed operational costs or encourage sharing of these houses so that administrative and operational personnel are rotated among the several existing auctions, taking advantage of the fact that they differ in their days of operation. This scheme would help reduce fixed costs and the commission collected without affecting profits, thus improving efficiency in this link of the chain. However, this option is not easy to implement, as auctions are run by private operators, whose various interests do not always coincide. The industrial sector formed by rural and industrial slaughterhouses shows a low occupation of installed capacity, resulting in high operational costs and low labor efficiency. The total operational costs of slaughtering and dressing are estimated as being between US$32 and $66 per animal. If the estimated unit costs are compared with the rates charged per slaughtered animal (between $15 and $23), then we have to conclude that rural slaughterhouses work at a loss and that industrial slaughterhouses cover their operational costs with processing services and the very small profit margins from sales of byproducts. The best performance in terms of efficiency and profitability is found in the retail sector of butchers and supermarkets. The rate of profits, expressed as the fraction of the final price paid by the consumer that remains in the butcher’s hands as remuneration of his work, ranges widely between 3% and 40%, with an average of 32%. If these profit rates are compared with those of other retail businesses, which are about 8%, then this type of activity presents excellent profit margins with relatively low risk. If, in addition, we take into account that this sector also offers the consumer a broad range of meat cuts from other animals such as pork and chicken, and processed meats, then profit margins are still higher. The value generated throughout the chain, as a percentage of the final value of the young steer at retail price according to activity, is distributed as follows: fattener (34%), retailer (33%), breeder (19%), slaughterhouse (7%), transporter (6%), and auction house (1%). As observed, the distribution of value throughout the beef chain is totally inequitable and incongruent with the level of individual risk confronted by the actors who form it. The inequity observed in the distribution of added value reflects a clear dominant position in the market of some actors of the chain, which enables them to capture a very high fraction of the profits. The value generated in the chain, adjusted for operational time in each link, ranges between US$0.28/animal per day for the breeder and $45.85/animal per day for the butcher. Thus, the highest proportion of the total added value concentrates on the final link of the chain. The butcher or supermarket obtains, on the basis of one animal in the same unit of time, 164 times more value that the breeder located in the first link of the chain. The latter has to confront biological and economic risks not covered by insurance policies, whereas retailers may mitigate risks through insurance policies for their raw materials, equipment, and infrastructure. The competitiveness of the beef chain is the aggregate of the efficiency and productivity of all the links that form it. In a situation where, in the final segment, the demand for beef is low and weakly dynamic, then economic signs of modernization and the technological change it promotes, are not being generated in other components of the chain, particularly in the first link of production. This, in turn, results in a vicious cycle, generating low productivity and lack of competitiveness. To promote technological change, efficiency, and competitiveness in the value chain for beef in Costa Rica, we propose the following six recommendations: 1. That successful experiences of other chains such as that of poultry be analyzed and learned from to identify strategies that would increase the efficiency of the beef chain as a whole. 2. That strategies for promoting the milk production of breeding cows be developed to increase family income, as remuneration of labor is currently below the minimum wage. This option would be viable only in localities where a milk market exists. That livestock producer funds [a livestock producer fund consists of granting livestock in company to produce meat, provided that the producer concerned has adequate pastures for this purpose on his farm] be created as mechanisms to develop social capital, reduce transaction costs, and help improve the chain’s productivity and profitability. These organizations would bring together the different classes of the chain and favor synergies in the interaction of public and private actors. 3. That incentives be created to promote the large-scale adoption of already available improved forage species, as most of the problem of low livestock productivity originates in poor and deficient feed. This strategy would emphasize feeding during dry seasons, thereby minimizing seasonal weight losses in the national herd and improving the profitability of farms. 4. That a carcass classification system be established, based on quality and price that would permit differentiating supplies for different segments of the market. 5. That consumer education be promoted on the health benefits of beef, forms of preparation, and differentiating between cuts, uses, and qualities of beef products.

A survey of marketing system, socio economic role and intra household dynamics of indigenous chicken was conducted in Gomma Wereda located at 390 km southwest of Addis Ababa. Six Kebeles of the Wereda were randomly identified and 30 households (hh) randomly selected from each kebele were used to collect data on the profile of the respondents, chicken population and flock structure, marketing system, socio economic role and intra household dynamics of the indigenous chicken using questionnaire, regular visit and target group discussions. The results obtained showed that the mean flock size/hh of the study area (6.23 chickens) was greater than that of the national average (4.1) and strangely dominated by hens of > 5 months of age. Informal and open markets of live birds and eggs are common throughout the Wereda. There is variation in market price of chickens and eggs attributed to the physical condition of the birds, disease outbreak, time of incubation, and holidays and festivals. Both eggs and chickens pass through different individuals before reaching consumers and about 52.2% of the market chickens and eggs are collected and transported by retailers to terminal markets contributing to disease spread and quality deterioration. About 96.7% of the ownership of chicken was held by women and with the exception of poultry house construction all the other activities including marketing are done by women indicating that village chickens are source of self-reliance for women. There are no taboos connected to consumption of poultry. And yet, chickens and eggs are not among staple food items in the Gomma Wereda. The results obtained also showed that lack of access to credit and high prevalence of disease conditions and predators are the major constraints to improve household poultry in the study area.

This study was undertaken to assess the potential for sweet potato silage making business by estimating sweet potato vines and root wastage and assessing the economic feasibility of investing in sweet potato silage. Information was collected through key informant interviews, secondary data review, sweet potato root peeling and weighing, focus group discussions with pig and sweet potato producers covering a sample of 180 farmers. Semi-structured interviews with 240 respondents (120 sweet potato farmers, 60 pig farmers and 60 sweet potato traders) were also conducted. The results showed that sweet potato production is seasonal with substantial wastage of sweet potato components existing across the various nodes of the sweet potato value chain. The study concludes that there is an opportunity for investment in sweet potato silage business that has the potential to reduce wastage of sweet potato and bridge the feed scarcity gap faced by pig farmers.