A study was conducted to assess the existing village chicken and egg marketing system of Bure district, North West Ethiopia. A participatory rural appraisal and a formal survey were used to collect all the relevant data, using a multistage sampling technique. Seven farmer kebeles (2 from high land, 3 from mid altitude and 2 from low land agro ecologies) and a total of 280 village chicken owner households were selected and considered for the study. In addition, 30 chicken and egg collectors (middle men) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. All local and urban markets were visited once in a month in all seasons of the year. The result of the current study revealed that there was no any formal chicken and egg marketing operation in the study district. The result showed that 69.3% and 99.6% of interviewed village chicken owners involved in marketing of chicken and eggs, respectively. Producer-Consumer, Producer-Middle men, Producer-Retailer, Middle men- Retailer, Middle men-Consumer were the prevailing chicken and egg marketing channels of the study district. According to the result of the study village chicken owners traveled, on average, a distance of 5.5km and 15.9km to reach to nearby local markets and urban markets, respectively. It is identified that the majority (59.3%) of chicken owners used both hand carrying (hanging birds with a piece of stick) and carrying birds with bamboo-made containers to transport live birds to markets. The result of the current study revealed that the price of chicken and eggs showed variation between months of the year. The percentage increase in market prices of chicken products at holyday market days, as compared to ordinary market days was 19.2% for cocks, 15.3% hen, 24.2% for pullets/cockerels and 16% for eggs. Some of the major marketing problems identified in this study were: low supply of marketable chicken products, presence of only few/limited market out-lets and lack of appropriate marketing information. It is suggested that chicken and egg marketing of village chicken producers can be improved through development of market information system at farmer’s level and strengthening of agricultural extension services, through trainings and advisory services.

The study was conducted in Goma district of Jimma Zone of Ethiopia with the objectives of documenting the reasons why farmers in coffee dominant mixed-farming systems of western Ethiopia keep small ruminants, and identifying the constraints and opportunities for improvement of this sector. Results are based on diagnostic survey of 160 sample households, group discussions and personal observation. The study district was stratified into three groups based on flock distribution as: sheep dominating, goat dominating and mixed flock sites. The average land holding per household was 1.93 ha. In Goma where coffee and chat are the major cash sources for farmers, small ruminant are also primarily kept for cash generation as reported by 94% of the sampled households. The second main reason for keeping small ruminant in the study area was for saving mainly in time of coffee failure. Keeping small ruminants as a source of manure was the third important reason. From the interviewed households, 59.4, 32.1, 23.5, and 19.4% of them utilize communal grazing, aftermath grazing, roadside grazing, and riverside grazing, respectively for their animal as a sources of feed. Most small ruminants are either tethered or herded all the seasons due to the cultivation of perennial crops and predators. All small ruminants are housed for protection from adverse weather conditions and predators. The major problems for small ruminant production and marketing were: feed and grazing land shortage, lack of input, predators, diseases and parasites and marketing problems. In order to exploit the current growing demand of small ruminant meat at local and international markets, research and development interventions are required with regard to the identification of alternative feed resources and strategic feeding management, identification of causes of diseases and their control methods and improving marketing efficiency through appropriate policy.

The objectives of the investigation were to determine the transgressive lines of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for grain quality traits (1000 kernel weight, and content of crude protein, starch and β-glucans) in the six cross combinations between covered and hull-less barley genotypes. The trial was carried out at the State Stende Cereal Breeding Institute during 2007 and 2008. Lines representing either positive or negative transgression were found in each cross combination if compared covered and hull-less lines with their parent varieties. These lines during the two years of investigation exceeded both parents in positive or negative direction by one standard deviation according to any of the four analyzed grain quality traits. Seven positive transgressive lines were observed regarding 1000 kernel weight, and two transgressive genotypes regarding crude protein content within the population of covered barley lines. No line with positive transgression regarding starch and β-glucan content was found within the covered barley population. 27 hull-less lines showed positive transgression regarding any of the four analyzed grain quality traits. The results show that it is possible to increase grain quality of spring barley grain by implementing selection practices.

The non-spore forming gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a food pathogen bacterium and the causative agent of listeriosis. The aim of study was to determine the survival limits of L. monocytogenes inoculated in manufactured cold smoked sausages depending on water activity (aw) and pH values. Enumeration of L. monocytogenes colony forming units per gram (cfu gE-1) was done according to ISO standards. The decreasing water activity conditioned by moisture (weight) loss during ripening and pH decrease ensured negative exponential growth rate of inoculated L. monocytogenes lg cfu gE-1 - 0.44 each day. A significant Pearson's correlation (p is less than 0.01) was established between decreased values of L. monocytogenes count, aw (0.99), pH (0.92), moisture % (0.96), and weight loss (0.93) in sausages during ripening. The experiments were done at the Faculty of Veterinary medicine of the Latvia University of Agriculture and in a sausage manufacturer's laboratory.

Innovation capacity has to be viewed as a consequence of properly operating innovation system. Well established and functioning innovation system is a result of enhanced by government innovation policy. In comparison with other European Union (EU 27) countries, innovation capacity indicators in Latvia remain low and considerably underperform, reflected in the 'European Innovation Scoreboard 2008', where Latvia took the 30th place among 32 countries. Problems and solutions are illustrated to represent innovation capacity in Latvia. This article consists of the following parts: first - theoretical aspects are selected to describe the essential definition of the analyzed subject. In the second part, experience from abroad is described, at the end – Latvian innovation policy and situation is analyzed and suggestions for further needs are formulated. The main results of analysis show that only a few elements of innovation capacity building are functioning at Latvian enterprises, whose aim is to build a base for the innovation capacity of the country.

Regional development should not be a unified process even for a small country such as Latvia. There is a stereotype that people living in big cities and rural areas differ in their values and behaviour. This study compares the human values of Riga, the Riga district urban area and different rural regions in Latvia. During the last three years - 2007, 2008 and 2009 the survey of 1450 inhabitants showed no substantial difference in peoples' social values; comparing rural and urban locations. Rather, a noticeable difference in human values between people living in different regions of Latvia was observed. It was also observed that the set of values expands in different directions over time, forcing a future increase in fragmentation and segmentation of the population in the country.

Despite Latvia being a small country, it bears marked territorial or regional differences both between smaller administrative territorial units (local municipalities, republican cities and districts) and between larger territories – regions. From 2004 till 2008 Riga received 50% of all European Union (EU) funding. Latgale received the smallest part of financing (10%); the rest of the funding was split almost equally among Zemgale (12%), Vidzeme (12%) and Kurzeme (13%). As specific tasks for the development of specific territories or a balanced distribution of financing were not put forward for the strategy of acquiring funds, the fund investment has been attracted only to those territories where the yield could be the biggest or where the absorption capacity was the highest.

The study was accomplished in 2010. The applied research methods are based on the analysis of the studies by other authors, industry experts, statistic data and the (unpublished) information provided by the Latvian district heating merchant “xxx”. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used for evaluating data regularity. In 2020 the energy produced from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) in total energy consumption in Latvia has to reach 40%. Such an objective can be achieved by promoting the use of biomass at cogeneration (CHP) plants, the potential of which is the district heat supply system. Wood as an energy resource in its structure accounts for only 25-30%; therefore, the primary condition is the introduction of modern technology which would provide the possibility to diversify energy resources. The calculations confirm that the realised amount of thermal energy indirectly affects profit; directly it is affected by the rate of thermal energy, so the structure of use of energy in heat supply enterprises is associated with lowering the cost of (restrictive) factors - the energy cost, specific production technologies, energy efficiency. Currently, the primary condition of heating companies is to find such energy resource(s) to ensure the approved schedule of temperature and thermal load. The next determining factor is the energy price. In assessing the factors that will affect energy usage in the future, the main strategic principle of energy consumption will be linked to limiting the growth or even reducing heat tariff, by realising optimal efficiency and minimal environmental pollution during energy transmission.

Implementing the land reform, territories of farms were quite often formed of several - up to 20 - land plots, frequently with disadvantageous borders. With reorganization of production of the farms, rural development and activities of land market, importance and tasks of rational territory organization will grow. Besides, it can be forecasted that, as a result of land rent and further buy-sell and other transactions, many new farmland properties and land uses are going to appear which might not correspond to the requirements of rational territory organization. It indicates that importance of land consolidation, e.i., enterprises for elimination of land fragmentation and other deficiencies of territorial arrangement, is going to increase further.

The aim of this research is to study the separation possibilities of household and rainwater sewage collectors in Riga. The performance of sewage pumping stations on the right and left banks of the Daugava River during the dry periods and those of rainfall is analyzed as well as the yearly costs of electric energy are given. This paper analyses the costs that would rise with re-building of the central regional co-system into the separated one. The locations are shown where the rainwater collectors are connected to the household sewage collectors likewise the recommendations are given for the separation of these collectors.