Vietnam aims to transform its food systems in a transparent, responsible and sustainable manner. To help achieve this, the new CGIAR research initiative “Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation” (SHiFT) is working with the emerging multi-stakeholder platforms in the country in order to support the planning and implementation of specific activities. This article demonstrates success already achieved.

Globally crop pathogens and pests cause significant yield and quality losses in agriculture production systems. Foliar fungal diseases of small grain cereals are economically among the most important diseases worldwide and in the Baltics. Finding an effective, reliable, and easily accessible method for plant disease diagnosis still presents a challenge. Currently used methods include visual examination of the affected plant, morphological characterization of isolated pathogens and different molecular, and serological methods. All of these methods have important limitations, especially for large-area applications. Hyperspectral imaging is a promising technique to assess fungal diseases of plants, as it is a non-invasive, indirect detection method, where the plant’s responses to the biotic stress are identified as an indicator of the disease. Hyperspectral measurements can reveal a relationship between the spectral reflectance properties of plants and their structural characteristics, pigment concentrations, water level, etc., which are considerably influenced by biotic plant stress. Despite the high accuracy of the information obtained from hyperspectral detectors, the interpretation is still problematic, as it is influenced by various circumstances: noise level, lighting conditions, abiotic stress level, a complex interaction of the genotype and the environment, etc. The application of hyperspectral imaging in everyday farming practice will potentially allow farmers to obtain timely and precise information about the development of diseases and affected areas. This review provides an introduction into issues of hyperspectral imaging and data analysis and explores the published reports of worldwide research on the use of hyperspectral analysis in the detection of foliar fungal diseases of small-grain cereals.

Semi-natural grasslands (SNG) are essential in the context of farmland biodiversity. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), on the other hand, is an important tool for the continuation of the management of semi-natural grasslands. Explicit knowledge on the pattern of grassland area changes is important to foster a more effective use of CAP for grassland biodiversity conservation. Our aim was to determine the habitat-specific changes in the distribution of Latvian SNG across different management regimes. Based on state-owned geospatial data of SNG distribution in 2014 and 2022, we assessed changes in semi-natural grassland areas over nearly ten years by analysing grassland management and spatial distribution including areas inside and outside the Natura 2000 network. The spatial distribution of SNG remained similar in both periods. Eastern Latvia retained the highest share of SNG while the central part showed the most pronounced increase in new localities of SNG due to extensive habitat mapping carried out in recent years. Abandonment appeared as a more important threat to SNG in the Natura 2000 network and more profoundly to unproductive habitat types while transformation into arable land and grassland intensification was a considerable threat to SNG outside the network and to more productive habitat types. We suggest that agri-environment schemes should address the different needs of SNG in the Natura 2000 network and outside it.

The phenomenon of global climate change holds utmost importance in its impact on forest ecosystems. To mitigate the effects of this phenomenon, several European countries have introduced non-native tree species into their forests. However, comprehensive ecological analysis is needed to assess the suitability of these non-native species. Pinus strobus is often considered a potential substitute for native species. Tree-ring analysis is a useful methodology for evaluating the relationship between tree growth and meteorological conditions, given the significant impact of these conditions on tree development. In this study, 25 core samples were collected from an experimental plantation of Pinus strobus located in the western part of Latvia for analysis. The plasticity of the tree-ring width of Pinus strobus was evaluated using a multiple additive regression model. The analysis revealed that the previous summer precipitation was a significant factor, indicating the drought sensitivity of the increment. Additionally, the temperature in the previous July and August was also found to be a significant meteorological parameter, suggesting some tradeoffs between growth and the formation of nutrient reserves. The estimated growth responses suggest that the radial increment of Pinus strobus growing outside its native range is highly weather-sensitive, implying uncertainty in its growth with anticipated climatic changes. These findings emphasize the need for further ecological analysis to determine the suitability of non-native tree species and their ability to withstand the climatic changes.

Today the demand for plant-based protein is growing rapidly due to increased awareness of animal protein growing costs and limited supply and has been highly related to biodiversity loss, climate change, and freshwater depletion. Legumes are in demand for their high content of protein, minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates, also including dietary fibre. Legumes are rich not only in macronutrients and micronutrients but also contain anti-nutritional factors. One of the most important anti-nutritive properties of legumes is their high trypsin activity. The length of time required for the preparation of legumes has limited their frequency of use compared to recommended intake levels. By heat treatment, an anti-nutritional component in legumes can be mostly separated. The possibility of using extrusion cooking, microwave dryer, roasting equipment, etc., is widely studied. Roasting is one of the widespread methods for treatment of legumes that significantly enhances the texture, flavour, colour, and product appearance. The latest studies in the legume treatments report valuable results after the combined treatments, wet roasting, which includes: dehulling, soaking, and roasting. Heat treatment can be a potential way to improve legumes use in food production: reducing the time required for treatment, preparation and improving nutritional value. l

Not only does construction activity in the regions play a crucial role in the regional development, as it not only provides employment opportunities and thus contributes to the well-being of the population, but also creates favourable conditions for access to modern housing and requires the mobility of human resources to the regions. At the same time, construction in regions and rural areas often implies more difficult conditions than in urban environments, which are associated with both funding opportunities and working conditions. The availability of financial investments to the private sector is limited for the construction of housing outside Riga and Pierīga region, which significantly reduces construction opportunities in the regions of Latvia. The study evaluates the possibilities of obtaining new housing in the regions of Latvia, analyses the trends in construction volume and costs from 2015, modelling forecasts until 2026. The study looks at various economic instruments that could contribute to the development of construction and new housing in the regions. The study uses surveys of municipalities, entrepreneurs and experts in the field of construction, in-depth interviews, focus groups and statistical data processing methods. It has been concluded that Latvian entrepreneurs tend to postpone investments or invest only in the economically strongest moments, which further aggravates the gap between urban and rural areas. The trends identified in the study indicate a possible further direction of stagnation or recession in the construction sector of new housing in the regions of Latvia, which will directly affect regional development in the next five years. The study highlights the necessary interventions for more productive regional housing stock cohesion.

The Baltic States have a three-tier pension system. Pillar II is the state funded pension scheme in which contributions are made automatically from an employee’s gross salary as part of social contributions. The contributions to Pillar II state funded pension schemes may be invested in several pension plans with different risk ratios of which three types are the most common: active, balanced and conservative ones. The accumulation of funds and consequently a partial amount of an old-age pension depends on the chosen pension plan and the manager of funds. The research aim is to assess the operation efficiency of the state funded pension schemes in the Baltic States. The research mainly employs and provides the analysis on the statistical data on the value and return of assets and number of Pillar II scheme participants. Theoretical discussion is built upon the use of scientific publications by means of monographic descriptive method, correlation and regression analyses as well as the methods of analysis and synthesis. In Latvia, 25.62% on average of all state funded pension plans participants have chosen conservative strategy, while only 8.36% on average have chosen this strategy in Lithuania. In Estonia (75.49%) and Lithuania (69.13%), the majority of assets are accumulated in the balanced strategy pension plans. The research results show that pension plans have positive return in long-term; though, sharp fluctuations and negative return might be demonstrated in short-term. Both in Lithuania and Latvia exists a negative correlation between Pillar II pension schemes and inflation, i.e. the return of a pension scheme decreases with the increase of inflation meaning that inflation alongside with other economic and political factors might be considered as a factor affecting the return of pension schemes.

Social enterprises, as an interdisciplinary form of business, often face problems that traditional enterprises and civil society organizations have already overcome: lack of legal framework, complex business models, business identity problems, lack of public awareness, lack of visibility and difficulty in accessing investment markets. The name ‘social entrepreneurship’ makes it clear that it is not easy to have a business oriented towards a social goal, because ‘social’ implies that the business is directed to the goal of reducing social problems and enhancing the quality of life, which, besides being expensive, is also a complex process. The purpose of the article is to reflect the challenges faced by representatives of social entrepreneurship in Latvia: before April 1, 2018, when this type of business was non-profit, and after, when the opportunity was given to establish a profit-making social enterprise. In order to achieve the goal, following tasks are set — to provide a theoretical explanation of social entrepreneurship, as well as, with the help of empirically obtained information, to reveal the challenges faced by representatives of social entrepreneurship in Latvia. According to interviewed informants, the main challenges for social entrepreneurs in Latvia are the lack of qualified employees, institutional cooperation and funding, which would allow organizations to effectively carry out their business; in addition, difficulties are caused by situations when financing is too complex or difficult to access, and social entrepreneurship lacks public support. Rather often, social entrepreneurs lack knowledge about business risks and how to plan their business in the long term.

Performance is a concept which is critical to both conventional businesses as well as social enterprises. However, for the latter, performance is closely tied to social impact which social enterprises and governments supporting the social entrepreneurship field are seeking to achieve. Despite the criticality of the topic, in Latvia performance of social enterprises has not been analysed in detail before; therefore, this study serves as a valuable starting point for discussions and evidence-based policy and also as a benchmark for future development in the field. Research results indicate that the Latvian social enterprises regard their performance across the social dimensions to be stronger, compared to their results in the business/financial dimensions. A greater balance between the social and businesses/ financial performance dimensions is desirable, providing ample space for interventions aimed at strengthening the business skills and capacities of social enterprises, paying particular attention to those engaged in work integration.

The energy-intensive timber industry enterprises have a significant role in Latvia’s manufacturing sector, contributing to the country’s sustainable economic development. They maintain the economic well-being of residents of Latvia’s rural regions and represent a substantial proportion of output value and export volume in the manufacturing sector and the state economy. Due to surging energy prices that negatively impact production costs, it is more difficult for enterprises to compete in foreign markets. The study aims to analyse energy consumption trends in timber industry enterprises in Latvia to propose activities for reducing energy costs, thus promoting the international competitiveness of timber industry enterprises. The analysis is based on data from Europe’s power market Nord Pool and databases of the Official Statistics Portal of Latvia. Methods used: statistical data analysis using time series analysis and expert interviews. The research results show that a significant threat to the competitiveness of enterprises is the increasing price of electricity, which is the second most consumed energy resource, accounting for nearly 15% of the total annual energy consumption of timber industry enterprises. To address high electricity costs, enterprises have the opportunity to install solar panels. Calculations show that, at an electricity price of 0.198 EUR per kWh, investments could lead to a five-year payback period with an ROI of 7.52%. At a lower electricity price of 0.13 EUR per kWh, the payback period would extend to ten years but still provide a reasonable ROI of 5.2%.