One of the most challenging issues of EU agriculture is viability of farmers’ and family farms. These farms used to play a major role in new member states. However, the last decades are characterized by the significant decrease in the number of farmers’ farms. The paper deals with the issues of these farms’ viability and the role of support. A literature review on viability concept and indicators justify the selection of socio-economic viability criteria for the survey. The findings are based on the results of Lithuanian farmers’ opinion survey. The analysis of the selected socio-economic criteria of viability shows that crop production farms are characterized as the most viable. According to the survey results, the farms with less than 30 ha, and the farms operated by farmers aged 60 and older belong to the most vulnerable group. These farms are non-viable in the long-run. The risk estimation of staying in agricultural business if support is abolished for viable and non-viable farms shows dependence of farm’s behaviour and viability status.

rural tourism homestead choice in Lithuania. The aim of the research was to determine the balance between the importance and performance of factors affecting the choice of rural tourism homestead in Lithuania. The questionnaire research was provided in Lithuania in 2014. Tourists’ evaluations regarding five exogenous latent variables: ‘accommodation and catering’, ‘activities in destination’, ‘natural features’, ‘destination aesthetics’, and ‘environmental preservation’, and four endogenous latent variables: ‘destination marketing’, ‘perceived value’, ‘satisfaction’, and ‘loyalty’ were measured. The total effects for the specific endogenous constructs in the structural model (importance) and the average values of the latent variable scores, rescaled to a range of zero and 100 (performance) were measured to compose the importance performance grid. The research results indicate that the most important factors for tourists while choosing a rural tourism homestead in Lithuania are ‘destination marketing’, ‘environmental preservation’, ‘perceived value’ and ‘satisfaction’. Moreover, the highest share of the total investments allocated to satisfy tourists and enhance the level of loyalty should be accrued to the improvement of ‘destination marketing’ and ‘environmental preservation’.

With increasing competition between companies providing logistics services, a need for new services occurs, entire service packages are formed in order to retain customers. Logistics companies frequently have similar machinery and equipment, employees with similar professional qualifications; they also work in essentially identical economic environment. Investments to technical base are not enough in order to attract new users of logistics services or to retain existing users. In order to be profitable, companies providing logistics services try not only to satisfy the needs of users, but also to provide value for the services that would totally meet implied expectations of the users. When using the same service, different users may assess it completely differently. Therefore, one of the most important aspects in business activity of the companies providing logistics services is the creation of consumption value without the need for significant financial investments ensuring high-end performance. The objective of the research is to determine conditions presupposing the creation of consumption value of logistics services in agrarian sector upon analyzing theoretical assumptions of the creation of consumption value. The research was conducted in the Republic of Lithuania by interviewing executives of the companies providing different logistics services and operating in different regions. Main logistics service groups specific to agrarian sector are defined in the article, and conditions presupposing the creation of consumption value of logistics services are determined.

Innovative activity of small and medium-sized enterprises is one of the factors for effective business. The aim of the article is to determine the innovative activities of small and medium-sized businesses in the frontier regions of Latvia (Latgale region), Lithuania (Vilnius region, Alytus region, Utena region, Panevezys region, Kaunas region), Belarus (Vitebsk region, Grodno region, Minsk region, Mogilev region). The novelty of the research has a cognitive character: the authors have determined the level of innovation potential for small and medium-sized enterprises in the regions, which is characterized by a complex of various resources, the amount of the production of innovative product and innovative technology, service in the regions, the branch structure of innovations in the regions, dominance of certain models of innovative entrepreneurship on the basis of innovative process organization in the companies located in the frontier regions has been established. The following methods are used for the research: logical analysis and synthesis, monographic and analytical method for studying economic theoretical and empirical sources of the international level, quantitative and statistical methods of data processing – frequency analysis, sampling; for the collection of the initial primary data the instrument of questionnaire was used.

The purpose of the research is to evaluate the technologies, available to the Latvia’s sector of fish processing and their utilized capacity, as well as to identify the factors influencing production process, providing recommendations for development and improvement of further policy of the sector. The author evaluated availability and utilized capacity of production technologies in the Latvia’s sector of fish processing, considering the analysis of financial indicators of the made investments, production capacity load and fish processing companies. In view of economic theory, the factors, influencing the production process of Latvia’s sector of fish processing, were defined. As a result of analysis, the author established that the development of production of Latvia’s fish processing sector is to a great extent influenced by the availability of human resources, raw materials and investments, as well as undertaking. For further development and policy planning of the sector it would be advisable to take into account these factors, influencing the production process of Latvia’s sector of fish processing and their changes. The formed combinations of indicators may be used in scientific researches on establishment of production technologies availability and their utilized capacity, and identification of factors, influencing the production process; they may facilitate researches for its calculation and importance, as well as may assist the institutions involved in the fisheries’ policy formation to work more successfully and improve the common policy in the field.

This review paper discusses possibilities of the identification of local food products at brand features. Initially, it was examined whether the identification of food products is possible at brand features, after it was established what type of brand could be used for the identification of local food products – store brand or national brand. Local food meets both definitions: national brand products and store brand products. The scientific literature does not provide an answer to the question about the use of imported raw materials in manufacturing process of national level and store brand products. The answer is not provided if the food products, which contain imported raw materials, are considered to be local food. The methodology used for the research is based upon a literature review – a monographic method.

The transition to adulthood is marked by interrelated changes in the areas of education, employment and family formation. Using frameworks on gendered transitions to adulthood and links between assets and livelihoods, we analyse nationally representative, sex-disaggregated data from 42 countries to characterize rural youths’ transition to adulthood by gender and according to a four-category typology of low and high levels of structural and rural transformation. Overall, we find that young women and men experience the transition to adulthood differently according to the structural and rural transformation classification of the countries where they live. Across all structural and rural transformation categories, young women are more likely to be married and living with their spouses or in-laws, less likely to be in school or employed, and less likely to own land solely. Gender gaps in secondary school education favour young women only in countries with higher levels of structural and rural transformation, and favour young men in the other three categories. Moreover, a larger proportion of young women than young men are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), but many NEET youth, especially young women, have transitioned into domestic and reproductive roles (i.e. are more likely to be married and/or have children.) Additionally, we review impact evaluations of interventions targeting youth. We find limited evidence on the gendered impacts of such programmes, and these programmes seldom consider how constraints differ for young men and young women. Addressing gaps in programmes and building an evidence base on the gendered impact of interventions can provide insights into how gender roles can simultaneously limit options and offer opportunities to young rural women and men in the context of structural and rural transformation.

Destaca que el desarrollo agroindustrial constituye la unica salida para la modernizacion agricola, ya que la puesta en marcha de agroindustrias arrastra e incorpora la tecnologia al campo y la hace rentable. Es por esta razon, que los elementos de desarrollo agroindustrial e instrumentos incentivadores deben ser coherentes y permitir integrar las partes que constituyen las empresas agroindustriales. Presenta el marco conceptual de la agroindustria, indicando que se fundamenta en tres elementos integrados y vinculados entre si: produccion primaria, industrializacion y la comercializacion, todo ello en funcion de los mercados. Analiza el rol de la agroindustria como sistema para el diseno de politicas, las formas asociativas de produccion (FAS) y la agroindustria, senalando la razon del por que, entre las empresas privadas, las FAS (cooperativas, asociaciones, etc.) son las que han tenido mayor dificultad para establecer empresas agroindustriales. Finalmente, explica la estrategia que permita la instalacion y desarrollo de empresas agroindustriales en una region o en un pais, para lo cual es necesario considerar el marco institucional, tanto a nivel estatal como privado. Describe este enfoque agroindustrial intersectorial e interinstitucional