The objective of the current study was to create a frozen dessert with reduced fat and sugar content, using plant-based ingredients and to evaluate its physical, rheological and nutritional properties. The dessert formulations were developed using plant-based ingredients such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, and beetroot, combined with date sugar, corn starch and skimmed milk powder. Chemical analysis showed that the sweet potato (SP) sample had the highest energy value due to its carbohydrate and fat content, while the carrot (CR) sample had the lowest. Rheology tests revealed that beetroot-based (BR) samples exhibited the highest viscosity, likely due to the high dietary fibre content in beetroots, while the CR sample was the most fluid, attributed to its lower solids content. The study showed that air bubble size influenced texture and melt behaviour. The overrun, a measure of air incorporation, was highest in the BR sample, contributing to a lighter texture. The hardness of the desserts was influenced by solid content and ingredient composition, with the CR sample being the hardest. Melting rate analysis revealed that all samples melted slowly, with the SP, SPP (sweet potato + potato), and BR samples melting uniformly over time. Overall, the study demonstrated that plant-based ingredients could effectively replace traditional high-fat animal-based ingredients, yielding frozen desserts with favourable nutritional profiles, acceptable rheological properties, and desirable physical characteristics.

Sourdough plays an important role in quality assurance, especially during developing wholegrain wheat bread products. The value of barley and hull-less barley grains is determined by the low lipid and high carbohydrate (starch and resistant starch) content, balanced amino acid profile, dietary fibre and phenolic compounds. During germination (24 h) the amount of sugar, amino acids and vitamins increase in the grains. Therefore, it could be optimal environment for microbiota growth in sourdough. The goal of the research was to find optimal technological parameters and to study microorganism growth dynamic during the fermentation of sourdough with germinated hull-less barley. The study was performed using three steps of fermentation, with different temperature and time parameters. At each step pH, dynamics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast-like fungi and total plate count (TPC) growth were determined using standard methods. The results of the study showed that the optimal fermentation conditions for the first stage are 48 h and 26 ± 1 °C, for the second stage 8 h and 26 ± 1 °C and for the third stage 20 h and 28 ± 1 °C. During fermentation of the sourdough, the pH 3.91 is reached, LAB 8.8 log₁₀ CFU g⁻¹, and the yeast-like fungi 8.7 log₁₀ CFU g⁻¹ was determined. Obtained data show that more than 80 bacteria and 50 microscopic fungal species were detected in hull-less barley flour, but after germination their diversity decreased and in the germinated hull-less barley sourdoughs dominated species were Pediococcus pentosaceus.

Feeding young animals is a very important stage during their growing-up period, but in order to provide them with essential nutrients, they are fed with liquid feeds, whole milk substitute in particular (WMS). The technique for reconstituting WMS consists of dissolving it in water followed by mixing, but it is significant to follow the cooking recipe strictly, so it is necessary to develop a system with a feeding (dosing) device that will make it possible to solve this problem. Theoretical and experimental studies of the feeding device have been conducted in order to optimize the technological process of mixing liquid feed. Theoretically, the quality of determining the mixture during dosing was established for the purpose of further research. The influence of the design and technological parameters of the feeding device was experimentally studied, and its efficiency was evaluated. It was found that as the inclination angle α increases from 67,5⁰ to 70⁰, the rotation speed n being from 850 to 1500 min⁻¹, the maximum probability of staying in the tolerance field ΔP=96% is reached, and feed discharge Q ranges from 540 to 660 kg h⁻¹. The research makes it possible to develop a feeding device at the design stage, meeting the requirements of the recipe, having high discharge rates and the lowest energy consumption.

The economy of Latvia lags behind economically developed nations approximately fourfold in terms of labour productivity in the tradable sector, which is the key constituent of a modern economy, thereby affecting future sustainable development in the entire country, including the rural areas. The economic backwardness is characteristic of the entire Central and Eastern Europe. This is the heritage of a communist regime that lasted for about half a century and the economic system termed a (centrally) planned economy or a command economy. However, such a term for the communist-period economy is not correct, as it does not represent the purpose it was created for. Accordingly, the paper aims to assess the effect of the communism period on the economic backwardness of the Central and Eastern European region of the EU. A planned economy that existed in all communist countries, with the exception of Yugoslavia, was not introduced to contribute to prosperity. It was intended for confrontation or even warfare by the communist countries under the guidance of the USSR against other countries where no communism regime existed, mostly Western world nations with their market economies. For this reason, it is not correct to term it a (centrally) planned economy or a command economy; the right term is a mobilised (war) economy. An extrapolation of a geometric progression for GDP revealed that during the half a century, Latvia as part of the USSR was forced to spend on confrontation with the West not less than EUR 17 bln. (2011 prices) or approximately one gross domestic product of 2011. The research aim of the paper is to assess the effect of the communism period on the economic backwardness of the Central and Eastern European region of the EU.

The employment of people with disabilities has multidimensional aspects - economic, social, legal, human rights, discrimination, psychological, ethical and responsibility aspects - with different actors involved representing various kinds of interests. The European Union Disability Action Plan and Strategy specifies the objective of promoting the employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market. The employment of such individuals is not only an economic issue, but also an issue of social inclusion, poverty reduction, equal opportunity and socially responsible employment. Effective and fair use of human resources for national economic development requires a variety of support mechanisms, including regulatory frameworks, the active involvement of local municipalities, and measures taken by state institutions. Because of the different issues and the various actors with different interests involved, an integrated way has to be considered to analyse the employment factors and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The purpose of this study is to explore and substantiate the possible scenarios associated with promotion employment opportunities for people with disabilities in Latvia. The research methodology employed for this study is based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and expert interviews are used to analyse the interests of all involved parties, in order to determine the best possible scenarios as to how to stimulate employment for people with disabilities. As a result, three scenarios to promote the employment of people with disabilities were developed. Although the results showed slight differences between the three scenarios, experts believe that the optimal scenario for promoting the employment of people with disabilities is the one in which the EU participates.

One of the mechanisms for enhancing innovative processes in the industry is the application of the concept of the “four-link spiral”. In contrast to the 3-link spiral, this model as one of the most important components includes a “society”, acting as one of the actors of innovative transformations. Firstly, it is society that is the main consumer of innovative products being created and, thereby, establishes “requirements”, forming demands for the quality and parameters of future products; secondly, society, in turn, acts as the initiator and generator of innovations, forming the so-called “social capital” necessary for the implementation of directly innovative transformations. In this scientific work, the problems of the formation of a “smart specialization” strategy for the innovative development of the industrial sector of the national economic system based on the application of the four-link spiral concept are investigated. A system of quantitative indicators for assessing the innovative level of industrial development is presented. The experience of introducing the concept of a four-link spiral as a mechanism of innovative development of industry (on the example of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation) is given. The aim of the article is to describe innovation processes in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus and to develop an innovation transfer model.

The change in the concept of urban agriculture has been driven by social, political and economic factors, changing the role of agriculture in the urban environment. From the second half of 20th century topicality and practices of urban agriculture are growing widely not only in social initiatives but also in scientific research (the number of articles in scientific databases has increased 18-30 times since 2000). Growing interest has identified various variations and tendencies in the interpretation of the concept of urban agriculture, having regard to the current United Nations definition that is broad, but in research works and case studies researchers adapt the definitions to the local characteristics and aim of the study, thus creating a number of risks in the interpretation of the concept, including limited possibilities for quantitative comparisons between studies. The aim of the article is to identify the historical development stages of the concept of urban agriculture and to determine the main research tendencies in its application. To achieve this aim, the method of monographic and descriptive analysis was used for theoretical discussion, analysis, synthesis and deduction - for information gathering, logical systematization and classification. As a result of the study, it was identified that the concept of urban agriculture is developed in three different stages - originally associated with the technical solutions of urban planning for providing food for city dwellers, it is currently developing in tendencies of different directions: analysis of agriculture’s role in urban areas (including mitigating climate change risks), classification of types of urban agriculture, opportunities for adapting innovations and technological solutions to urban agriculture, the place and context of urban agriculture for sustainable development in the circumstances of urbanization. Such in-depth research of the experience and impact of urban agriculture on sustainable development could increase dynamically due to environmental considerations, aspect of the circular economy, and new paradigms in planning urban and peri-urban areas.

In sub-Saharan Africa intensifying small-scale farming is essential in addressing poverty related issues in rural communities and the degradation of natural resources. Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) are the best practices used to improve the productivity of crops whilst maximizing agronomic efficiency of inputs applied and hence contributing to sustainable intensification. ISFM usually include the appropriate use of inorganic fertilizer and organic resources, good agronomic practices and appropriate use of germplasm. The survey was carried-out on the awareness of Integrated Soil Fertility Management practices in the Savelugu Municipal of Northern Ghana to study the awareness of integrated soil fertility management practices amongst farmers through the administration of questionnaires. A multistage method of sampling was used in selecting thirty (30) respondents randomly from five (5) selected communities namely Jana, Yapalsi, Diari, Nabogu and Gushie to make up a total sample size of 150 respondents. Frequency distribution and percentages were used to represent the data. Correlation analysis was used to test for the relationship between awareness, educational level and household size. The survey showed that majority of the respondents at ages between 21 and 30 years were married and majority with household size of 3 to 5 as well as primary and secondary education. Farming activities were carried-out by hand (80%). Majority of the respondents (43.3%) were informed about ISFM through demonstrations and 20% of the farmers apply inorganic fertilizer. About 85.5% of the respondents were aware of ISFM. The research also revealed that ISFM improves production and supports finances of respondents. The assessment of respondents’ perception of ISFM revealed a positive agreement of the effect of ISFM on soil health as well as improved production. In conclusion, it is thus suggested that it is needful for the involvement of the government on the adoption of ISFM via Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) locally and or internationally for a suitable advancement and to guarantee a sustainable environment with a world-wide corporation for improvement.

The national ecolabel of tourist accommodation establishments and rural tourism enterprises of Latvia – the ‘Green Certificate’ (hereinafter the ‘Green Certificate’) celebrated its 20ᵗʰ anniversary in 2019. Its creation in 1999 was initiated by the Latvian Rural Tourism Association ‘Baltic Country Holidays’, and it is currently one of the oldest European ecolabels still in operation. One of the most significant tourism and rural tourism resources in Latvia is the natural and cultural heritage, which is the basis for the development of rural tourism products. In this process, ecosystem services used in tourism products play a major role. One of the goals of the ‘Green Certificate’ is environment, nature and local society friendly and sustainable farming, which means both a careful use of natural resources and their inclusion in the tourism product development process. The aim of this study was to find out which ecosystem services were used and the ways they were used by rural tourism companies to create the nature protection, social and economic added value. According to the respondents, 1/3 of the revenue of the ‘Green Certificate’ companies is generated by the use of the ecosystem services. It is an argument for further research on the possibilities of the ecosystem services to be used more effectively in future in developing new rural tourism products.

The article presents results of the analysis of the cattle breeding industry’s development in Ukraine, the main trend of which was the decrease in the number of cattle, including the number of cows. A way to support livestock in the industry using the subsidy mechanism is suggested. This approach is aimed at increasing profitability of the cattle breeding industry output per 1 ha of fodder crops in the farm to profitability of barley production from 1 hectare in the area. The results of the proposed approach show that increasing milk profitability from 1 hectare of fodder crops to barley profitability from 1 hectare can be the basis for maintaining the livestock sector. The use of the livestock productivity factor (cow milk yield) in the proposed methodology makes farms more interested in increasing livestock productivity, which in turn increases the number of subsidies in the industry. In addition, an increase in fodder crops area in the farm has an ecological effect.