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- Social Farming in Czechia, Actors and Barriers
Abstract: The article deals with the state of social farming in Czechia, which is obviously in its infancy. The main barriers to development are the character of Czech agriculture, which is radically based on large-scale production and deliveries to large customers, insufficient cooperation of individual ministries and too narrow conception of the problem as care farming. At the same time, we can expect increasing demand for this type of management in the future. Some ideas for improving the situation are presented, the most important of which is the recognition of social farming by the public administration and the creation of a legal framework for its development.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Mixing Up Apples and Pears Can Work – Case Study of an Innovative Model
of Social Enterprise From Slovakia
Abstract: Social enterprises have the potential to address diverse issues, even when they fall off the radar of formal institutions e.g., by establishing partnerships that are new locally and nationally. The analysis offers a conceptual description of a model of social enterprise established by a regional self-government authority, that blends dual education and social economy and serves as an innovative agent of change. Case research was the approach used. The research revealed that the motivation behind the enterprise was social integration, increasing attractiveness of agriculture for young people and regional self-sufficiency. The partnership was recognized as the key element of the model design. The model brings social, economic and environmental change to employees and students but also to the whole environment. Such a model could be replicated and such collaboration could be put on the map of social enterprises.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- The Role and Functions of Stakeholders in the Development of Local Food
Systems: Case of Lithuania
Abstract: This article based on the example of Lithuanian pilot areas (districts) aims to supplement the knowledge about the role and functions of stakeholders in the development of local food systems (hereinafter LFS). An analysis of the scientific literature has revealed a clear role of stakeholders in different countries, but this approach and experience are unique in each country. The results of the case study of Lithuania showed that an analysis of pilot areas and a questionnaire survey at the municipal level identified 14 institutions that could make a significant contribution to the organization of LFS. However, horizontal links between LFS stakeholders are relatively weak, functions and roles are not clearly defined in the pilot areas. Research methods used in the article: analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, document analysis, case study, questionnaire survey, logical abstraction, comparison method. The insights and results of this article contributed to a deeper understanding of LFS as a phenomenon in Lithuania, and from a practical point of view, other districts of Lithuania could discover, self-assess and adapt their LFS organization principles, identify stakeholders and their functions.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Social Work in Social Farming in the Concept of Empowerment
Abstract: This article aims to present social farming from the perspective of social work; it, therefore, explores the added value of agriculture. More specifically, it adapts the concept of empowerment to the conditions of working with participants with disabilities on social farms. In general, the concept of empowerment is described as the acquisition and use of skills to meet one's own needs and gain control over one's own life. Further, the empowerment of groups and communities is understood as gaining rights and straightening the system. It is a systematic method of work used with people with health or social disadvantage, fragile groups and communities. Using participant observation protocols from the stays on different social farms gathered within the project led in four European countries, the form, benefits, and limits of the concept of empowerment are investigated in this alternative agricultural environment. The paper summarises that the process of empowerment on social farms takes several forms at the individual level. Still, when it comes to the acquisition of power by a group or community in conjunction with participation, the use of the concept is limited.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Social Farming: A Systematic Literature Review of the Definition and
Context
Abstract: The definition and understanding of the social farming (social agriculture) concept varies from country to country, depending on the specific conditions for its development. The contribution provides a systematic literature review of its definition and context. Scientific publications (134), which deal with the topic of social agriculture in different contexts within different geographical areas, and with different intensity over time, have been analysed. Special attention was paid to case studies. Most of the case studies dealt with Italy, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and Norway. More than a third of the outputs address the issue of health effects of social farming. Social benefits are the second most frequent topic. Moreover, educational, environmental and economic effects of social agriculture are discussed in the analysed publications with a similar intensity. Green care (social agriculture) farms are significant players in rural development, and work and social inclusion, and can instantly and innovatively react to the local needs.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Potential of Including Social Farming Initiatives within Agroecological
Transition in Hungarian Farms
Abstract: The European Model of Agriculture has been developed based on multifunctional agriculture that plays an essential role in increasing the vitality of rural areas in Europe. The agroecological approach is strongly related to multifunctional agriculture as well as social farming that is unique for visualising the social aspect of sustainability in agriculture. This paper aims to explore and evaluate the awareness and attitude of Hungarian farmers, based on indicators derived from in-depth interviews focused on agroecological transition, in order to identify possible spaces for social farming initiatives. For this purpose, the indicators are analysed using the existing 10 elements of agroecology created by FAO as a reference point. The aim of this analysis is to understand which basic element-related practices are preferred, whether social elements are included or not, and to determine which areas need to be strengthened in education in order to encourage farmers to be open to addressing social issues. The results of the research confirm indicators which are present in the daily practices of those farms that do not necessarily identify themselves as social farms. In addition to their willingness to potentially transition to agroecological systems, they have the basic elements and attitude to adopt social farming.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Social Agriculture in Selected EU Countries: A Market Outlook
Abstract: Social agriculture is a fast-growing sector in Europe. There is a great diversity in the social agriculture landscape across Europe, depending on the national contexts. The settings in which social agriculture takes place, namely social farms, are innovative because they combine health care and social services with agricultural production. Different participant groups find their place on these social farms. Social agriculture can be beneficial for participants, providers, the environment and the wider society. In this paper, we give an overview of the social agriculture market situation in a selected number of European countries, namely the Netherlands, Flanders (Belgium), Italy, Austria and Ireland. The country focus is largely dictated by the composition of, and the resources available to the project team undertaking this study. To explain how social agriculture is organised in the different European countries reviewed, three main frameworks are used: a multifunctional agriculture, public health and a social inclusion framework. In each of the countries under review, specific regulations, funding mechanisms, cultural values and support organisations provide different contexts for the evolution of social agriculture. A Market Outlook for social agriculture in these selected countries is undertaken which addresses the demand for and supply of such services, the profile of providers and beneficiaries, the key issues relating to funding, policy, certification/quality standards and future trends impacting on the sector. To make the European social agricultural sector more sustainable, it is important to broaden the activities and target groups, raise awareness, increase visibility via communication and tailor and secure funding for the future.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Some Aspects of Social Farming in Czechia
Abstract: Social farming (SF) has been developing dynamically in the Czech Republic in the last 10 years and enterprises are emerging and operating where the necessary conditions and environment are created for various people from target groups. The practice in the Czech Republic is to a large extent based on international practice and follows the basic outlines of the practice of mainly European countries. In these facilities, these persons often find employment or engage in various occupational therapy programmes in the provision of social services. Thus, in this analysis, we qualitatively focus on the identification of the basic factors why these farms come into existence and what are the main determining aspects for their functioning, which are based on the long-term experience of running a farm under the social farming concept. A guided qualitative interview method was chosen with respondents who have been operating in the country for a long time in the framework of the analysis, thus bringing in stimulating experiences that accompany them in their activities. The analysis is thus essentially a first experience in this field and raises a number of further questions that could be further deepened and refined, including in an international context.
PubDate: Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Spatial Trends of Grassland Changes Based on Hungarian Local Studies After
1990 with a Macro-Regional Perspective
Abstract: Grasslands contribute to the ecological diversity of our cultural landscapes. In the last centuries, the most important trend was a constant loss of this valuable asset due to urbanization and the intensification of cultivation. Studies focusing on grasslands are not so abundant, and especially analyses on the spatial trends of grasslands in Eastern-Central Europe are scarce. Focusing on Hungarian local studies, we analyze our results from a macro-regional perspective, with a draft study of the V4 countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland). The authors employed GIS and statistical methods to analyze data to explore trends of changes of grasslands in V4 countries, Hungary, and in three micro-regions of different landscape character. These include an open landscape, partly intensively cultivated (micro-region of Csorna), and two more diverse landscapes with different proportion of forests (micro-regions of Gönc and Veszprém). Our results show that very complex, sometimes opposite processes influence the area of grasslands. In spite of the fact that an increase in the area of grasslands is witnessed at both the national and the international level in absolute values, recently, unfavorable processes have started, and there are certain landscapes where grasslands are threatened especially natural grassland by forestation and grasslands where soil conditions are suitable for crop production. Our results showed that despite the different landscape conditions, the majority of grassland has been turned into arable land and into shrubs and forest area. The loss of pastures due to urban sprawl is a dominant process just around the built-up area of city of Veszprém in the most urbanized study area.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Emigrating to Depopulated Regions in Mediterranean Europe: Demographic
Impact and Choice of Destination in a Case Study in North-East Spain
(Aragon)
Abstract: International migration to depopulated areas is a growing field of research; even more so in Spain, one of the European countries most affected by depopulation. This paper analyses, first, the demographic impact of immigration from other countries in Aragon, which has undergone an intense and long process of depopulation throughout most of its territory. Second, we examine the factors that explain the immigrants’ choice of destination. The analysis focuses on the period 2000–2016. The basic territorial units of the analysis are the municipality (NUTS 5) and the county (NUTS 4).
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Vienna’s South-Eastern Hinterlands: Regional Development in the
Austrian-Hungarian Border Area, 1910–2011
Abstract: Formed from the westernmost territories of Hungary, Burgenland became a part of Austria a hundred years ago. The aim of the paper is to answer the question of how Burgenland became integrated into the Austrian society and economy, how its regional inequalities and rural character changed in comparison to the neighbouring Austrian and Hungarian areas, under the influence of Vienna’s major role. The analysis is based on the census data of 1910, 1960/61, 2001 and 2011 and on the mapping of different social and economic indicators. Our data revealed that one hundred years ago, the northern, more prosperous area of Western Hungary was an integral part of the rural hinterland of the imperial capital, Vienna, in stark contrast to the region’s southern periphery. After World War II, however, a steep west-east gradient emerged in the borderland along the Iron Curtain, while the traditional north-south disparity continued to exist on both sides of the new border. During the political transformation in the early 1990s, and even more after Hungary’s EU accession (2004), the former hard border ceased to exist in this region, while Vienna regained its former economic importance and influence. After 1990, the patterns of regional disparities changed rapidly in Hungary, and the western part achieved a leading position within Hungary in every dimension of economic prosperity. In line with this, while the Austrian rural regions in Burgenland and between Vienna and Graz showed remarkable infrastructural progress, Southern Burgenland remained peripheral regarding economic activity.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Is Visitor Satisfaction High Enough' A Case of Rural Tourism
Destination, South Bohemia
Abstract: Satisfaction of visitors in tourism destinations is one of the most discussed topics in destination management and marketing. Many destinations report high satisfaction of their visitors. The objective of this study is to analyze overall satisfaction and satisfaction components in eleven tourism areas within South Bohemia, a typical Czech rural region, and to define the high level of satisfaction using benchmarking as a methodological approach. Using ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation, we identified the high level of satisfaction following the against-the-best benchmarking and the against-the-industry average approach. The results also show that perceived atmosphere in a destination, willingness to help and friendliness are the most significant components correlating with overall satisfaction.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- New Players on a Tough Field
Abstract: The pivotal aim of this research is to identify new entrants to mountain farming, their routes into practicing and resulting environmental impacts. Following an actor-network approach, this multi-regional case study was conducted in two remote regions of the Western Austrian Alps and in a bordering Alpine region in South Tyrol (Italy). All data was generated using semi-structured interviews on site and official agricultural statistics.Both autochthons and foreign newcomers to mountain farming display a great deal of idealism to fulfil their agricultural dreams. Their self-determination and bid for independence from the agricultural industry affects their thinking and decisions on housing, farming and collaborations, resulting in far-reaching social and spatial impacts on the sociocultural landscape. In implementing sustainable and extensive farming practices, new entrants act as role models and thus highlight alternatives beyond the prevailing mountain agricultural regime.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Decentralised Funding Activities of the Leader Local Action Groups of the
North Hungarian Region from a Governancepoint of View
Abstract: Our article investigates the utilisation of EU support from the EFARD Axes 3 and 4 in the 2007–2013 period in North Hungary, with a special emphasis on the role of the LEADER local action groups (LAGs) and their forms of governance. A brief study ofthe results of the 2014–2020 period was also included. The distribution of resources was examined by a spatial inequality indicator, the Gini coefficient. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted to explore the level and forms of governance in the case of LAGs. Our research results suggest that the distribution of Axis 3 resources within local action groups shows greater inequality in fewer LAGs. The Axis 4 denotes higher inequality. The level of governance of LAGs is relatively low as it is achieved through strong local leaders. This may explain high spatial inequalities of fund distribution.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Transformation of the Rural Settlement Network in the Carpathian Region of
Ukraine (1989–2020)
Abstract: The article describes research on the Transformation of the Rural Settlement Network in the Carpathian Region of Ukraine in recent decades. The study area covers the Carpathian region of Ukraine, which has the highest share of rural population in the country. The 1989–2020 period was chosen. Quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis of statistical indicators, deductive and inductive methods, and cartographic method were used. The demographic crisis and economic problems of Ukraine did not stop the most important demographic and settlement processes that began in rural settlements of the Carpathian region during the Soviet period. These processes acquired the special features associated with political transition. Depopulation was greatest in the most urbanized Lviv Oblast, especially in the plains, in peripheral villages, where a critical level of negative demographic change had previously been achieved. However, the disappeared villages are few. Population growth in villages in suburban areas of large cities has not stopped. In sparsely urbanized areas, mostly in Transcarpathia and Precarpathia, a large group of villages that have also not been depopulated has emerged. Their development was facilitated by the availability of recreational and forest resources, border location, state support for mountain villages, and some local factors. The real situation in rural Ukraine is partly obscured by imperfect official statistics. In particular, it is difficult to establish population losses due to labor migration abroad.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Rural Areas in Poland – Changes Since Joining the European Union
Abstract: Rural areas are experiencing a dynamic, multidirectional change. It is the result of impact of many processes, including rapid, often spontaneous urbanisation and structural transformation in the agricultural sector and temporary and permanent movements of the population. Changes in the spatial structures of the countryside, on the one hand, influenced by European programmes and measures, linked to the processes of modernisation and organisation of rural settlements and economic systems. On the other hand, rapid economic development and spontaneous investment are resulting in the expansion of the urban forms of land use – not only in the immediate surroundings of the cities and towns, but also in remote, peripheral areas dominated until recently by farming. The paper presents the genesis of contemporary land use in rural areas in Poland, linking the countryside structures with the intensity and forms of residency and user economies in the rural areas. The main drivers of change, significantly affecting the emerging forms of farming villages, are processes of intensive suburbanisation and semi-urbanisation, the phenomenon of progressive peripherisation of large areas in different parts of the country, the depopulation of the countryside and profound changes in the demographic structure of the population, improvement of infrastructure and transport accessibility and economic revival of villages. There are also important issues related to advantages such as natural and cultural values of the village. The aim of the article is to present the main directions of functional and spatial transformations of rural areas in Poland from the beginning of the 21st century. The main hypothesis is that the development of rural areas in Poland proceeds in two directions: Urban “colonization”, which involves the invasion of both single- and multi-family housing in the surroundings of traditional villages and in areas previously used for agricultural purposes, is becoming increasingly widespread; this follows restructuring and diversification (spatial and functional) in urbanized rural areas. Much indicates that the rational development and use of rural areas will be one of the main challenges of Poland in the near future.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Analysis of Specialisation and Management in Italian Farms Through a
Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling Approach
Abstract: Using Italian data published by the Farm Accountancy Data Network, this study investigates whether certain variables such as labour, assets, crops, cost, and financial subsides allocated through the Common Agricultural Policy are able to act on the management and on the productive specialisation of Italian farms, and focuses on assessing the main relationships that exist between these variables and the items correlated to them in 8 main types of farming for the period 2004–2019. The results have revealed that while the type of farming practiced has had an influence on farm management, the impact of financial subsides allocated through the CAP has differed. This research fills a gap in the literature by investigating the main relationships that exist between farm specialisation and farm management through the PLSSEM. that enables the identification of which variables have the greatest influence on the management of Italian farms.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Bohemian Switzerland: Long-Term Spatiotemporal Transformations of Tourism
Facilities in Rural Peripheries Between the Regulations and Access for All
Abstract: Bohemian Switzerland (České Švýcarsko) is a name that has been associated with the prominent area of sandstone landscapes located in Northern Czechia (Central Europe). Over the last centuries, the development of the area and the locational transformation of tourism facilities has been influenced by multiscalar effects of transforming geopolitical context, economic restructuring, and changing value orientation and expectation toward tourism and nature conservation. In this paper, we use narrative documentary sources to show how these changes affected the capacity, spatial diffusion and variability of tourist facilities and services in the area. In particular, we explore and discuss the ways in which public authorities and other groups of stakeholders attempted to balance the tourism-led local development and rights to public access with nature conservation and sustainable community livelihood.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Producer Organisations in an Export-Oriented Value Chain: What Motivates
Small-Scale Farmers in Kosovo to Collaborate'
Abstract: Producer organisations bear great potential to link small-scale farmers to markets. In post-communist economies, historically negative attitudes towards cooperatives are blamed as barriers to collaboration, but little is known about the broader range of motives to (not) cooperate. We use a structural equation model to analyse cooperation intentions in Kosovo’s emerging export-oriented raspberry sector. In this context, negative images surrounding cooperation seem to belong to the past. Widespread positive attitudes towards joining producer organisations were driven by the wish to facilitate farm commercialisation. The most substantial influence on cooperation intentions came from the norms passed on by the family and farm advisory services. Yet, results beyond the econometric model show that a lack of information and knowledge and lack of institutional trust, mainly doubts about the feasibility of producer organisations, could hinder their spread and success.
PubDate: Mon, 11 Jul 2022 00:00:00 GMT
- Challenges in Assessing the Level of Plant-Based Food Self-Sufficiency
Using Publicly Available Data in the Regional Context of Slovenia
Abstract: Methods for assessing regional food self-sufficiency are poorly developed worldwide, while knowledge of the characteristics of regional food self-sufficiency could help in designing more sustainable and resilient regional food systems. This paper addresses the challenge of defining and assessing food self-sufficiency at different geographical levels and provides a detailed presentation of the method for assessing the regional plant-based food self-sufficiency rate using publicly available data from administrative sources, taking the Slovenian development regions as an example. The results indicate the need to improve the reliability of the data used to identify the characteristics of regional food self-sufficiency and to a more effective coordination between existing agricultural databases.
PubDate: Sun, 10 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT
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