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The use of modern technology is becoming part of both industry and agriculture. These technologies can also be used in beekeeping, where they can help to monitor the operation of the hive remotely. Beekeepers can remotely monitor the weight of their hives, their temperature, humidity, and other parameters. The aim of this paper is to map the beekeepers in the use of products with monitoring system for remote bee detection in beekeeping in Czechia. To map the issue, qualitative research using semi-structured interviews was conducted with beekeepers, manufacturers/providers of smart devices in beekeeping, and other entities involved in beekeeping. The findings showed that the interest of manufacturers and sellers to offer these smart devices is significant, but the interest of beekeepers is rather less, due to e.g., the purchase price, weaker IT knowledge, traditional beekeeping practices, higher age of beekeepers and the joy of being personally with bees. The novelty of the paper is not to look at the provision of ICT in beekeeping from a technical perspective, but from the perspective of users (beekeepers) and manufacturers of these technologies. Through interviews with beekeepers as well as others in the apiculture sphere, a comprehensive view of the issue is developed. Moreover, this is the first piece of research on this area in Czechia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern European integration entails the common foreign and security policy. In February 2022, the Russian aggression against Ukraine moved the deplorable situation from 2014 to another level calling for an EU reaction via legal instruments. Based on them, ten sanctions packages have emerged with significant consequences. The aim of this paper is to analyze it, in particular the connection of these ten sanctions packages and foreign trade between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. This aim is achieved by addressing three sets of goals: (i) the legal analysis of EU trade policy instruments, (ii) an advanced statistical and critical analysis of the trade between Czech Republic and Russian Federation and (iii) a creation of a timeline of the application and its ramifications. This reveals interesting propositions about the impact of these sanctions packages on the Czech foreign trade and about the effectiveness of the EU's trade policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given its role in landscape sustainability and health benefits, beekeeping is supported in all EU countries. The paper focuses on the assessment of the impact of beekeeping subsidies on the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic. Subsidies in the Czech Republic are provided from national sources (state budget), from the budgets of individual regions and from EU sources. The paper presents the development of the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic from 1990 to 2018. Until 2008, the number of bee colonies in the Czech Republic was decreasing. A significant increase occurred only in 2013. The influence of the amount of subsidy on the number of bee colonies was analysed using a panel data model and the Pearson correlation coefficient. The results show that subsidies have a significant positive influence on the number of bee colonies in Czech Republic and also in the individual regions of the Czech Republic. In terms of the specific focus of subsidies, we can observe a significant positive dependence between the number of bee colonies per beekeeper and technical support. Subsidies for the fight against varroosis are also very important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main tasks of controlling is to identify the deviations of actually achieved results compared to the planned and to find out reasons for their occurrence. Lack of attention to this activity can have negative impact on the company's performance. The paper focuses on identification of selected research results that was conducted in Slovak agricultural enterprises. The main goal of the paper is to evaluate and analyse the approach of agricultural enterprises in Slovakia to the implementation of deviations analysis. The basic technique applied for data collection was a questionnaire survey, which was supplemented by a direct interview with managers of selected agricultural entities. The implementation of the questionnaire survey was preceded by a pre-research (pilot study) carried out in the Czech Republic. Obtained data were statistically examined applying the XLStat statistical program. Based on achieved research results we confirmed presumptions from the theoretical background elaborated in the paper, stating that the analysis of deviations is an integral part of controlling. Furthermore, we identify problematic areas for deviations analysis and also controlling implementation in agricultural enterprises in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on dairy sector with the emphasis on the development of consumption of milk and dairy products, including cheese, curd and other dairy products, in the last 15 years in the Slovak Republic and in the Czech Republic. The aim of the paper is to identify the level of milk and dairy products consumption, as well as to identify the main determinants affecting the consumption. Paper is also aimed at milk production with emphasis on the main problems that may affect future development on the dairy market. The primary data are obtained by consumer survey and survey aimed focused on producers of milk and dairy products. Based on the results we have identified that the milk and dairy products consumption by Slovak consumers is lower compared to the Czech Republic and the quality and price are considered as the main determinants influencing the consumption. We also found out that milk and dairy products producers are adapting their production to demand, but it is important to point out the barriers related in particular to the introduction of new technologies into production, rising input prices or growing consumer disinterest in the consumption of milk and dairy products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitization is becoming part of agriculture. Winemakers can use monitoring technologies to map land or control the quality of grapes, and telematics, e.g., in tractors, or use entire autonomous machines. The aim of this paper is to find out the barriers to and benefits of the use of smart farming technologies by small and medium winemakers, specifically sensors and weather stations, which allow the collection of site-specific data for subsequent application in viticulture. Therefore, the pilot study analyses how winemakers in traditional industry are able to employ smart farming technologies (SFT) to gain some benefits and also describe possible barriers. The primary method of data collection was through 27 semistructured interviews with relevant wine industry actors, accessing documents created by SFT providers and an academic literature review. Three groups of actors were researched: 1) 22 winemakers including the Ekovin Association, 2) three SFT providers and, 3) one supplier of hardware for soil and temperature sensors. According to the information of winemakers, it is clear that SFT are used by some of them and they are clearly aware of their benefits, which is also confirmed by SFT providers. The findings revealed that the main STF benefits are adjustment of the product portfolio, savings, consulting and organization of activities. However, respondents also mentioned barriers to SFT implementation, such as low need for information, another source of information, conservative approaches, ignorance of SFT, financial demands, low state support and age of winemakers. The novelty of this paper is in providing an analysis of the issue of SFT, specifically sensors and weather stations, for winemakers from three different perspectives, that of winemakers, suppliers of SFT and HW manufacturer for SFT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the use of social networks in agricultural enterprises and focuses mainly on their role and share in increasing the competitiveness of agricultural enterprises in the market. Primary data were obtained from an extensive survey of the development of information and communication technologies in agricultural enterprises, which was conducted in the first quarter of 2021 throughout the Czech Republic ("Survey 2021"). The research was primarily focused on capturing current trends in the use of ICT with emphasis on selected key areas (broadband, social networks, communication tools, regional Internet portals, used hardware categories, used software, mobile communications, Internet of Things, data storage and security, social networks, etc.). This survey builds on previous extensive surveys conducted by the Department of Information Technologies, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, CULS in Prague in several phases since 1999, with the last stage being conducted in 2017. Some surveys were conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of Czech Republic. Compared to recent years, the survey includes new domains, such as the use of the Internet of Things in plant and animal production, data storage and security, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company's core operations, etc. The survey was prepared, conducted and administered by the Department of Information Technology, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Life Sciences Prague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless communication technologies associated with the Internet of things (IoT) have started to be used also in manufacturing. Developing data-driven services by IoT also known as "smart services" in manufacturing business has become one of the current trends. Sensors enable IoT systems to provide intelligent and smart services during the shift towards smart production. Smart technologies have begun to be used also in agriculture by means of agricultural and farming applications. The aim of the paper is to determine why manufacturing companies have started to provide smart services with their products. A literature review presents the background of smart services in manufacturing companies as well in agriculture. For the empirical part, a qualitative multi-case study was conducted among seven Czech electrotechnical manufacturers and one Czech agricultural tractor manufacturer. All case companies have already begun with their smart service development. The findings indicate that manufactures usually decide by themselves to start with smart servitization, but the main categories of smart servitization drivers are connected to competitive advantage. The study is unique in highlighting the problems of smart services in SMEs in the Czech Republic, where the industrial sector is still dominant in comparison to other European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with problems of processing agricultural production data into the form of time series and analysing consequent results by means of two completely different methods. The first method for calculating cereals production figures uses the MS-Excel spreadsheet using conventional mathematical and statistical functions while the second one uses the ELKI software providing users with development environment including algorithms of neural networks. The obtained results are similar to a certain extent which shows new possibilities of progressive use of neural networks in future and enables modern approach to analysing time series not only in agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the development and main characteristics of Czech milk production productivity and to compare Czech development with the situation in the European Union. From a methodological point of view, a parametric approach in the form of stochastic frontier analysis was applied, the input distance function was estimated, and total factor productivity was examined. The analysis used an unbalanced panel data set, which describes TF14-45 specialist milk production from 27 member states of the European Union in the period 2004-2016 collected in the FADN database. The results showed that in the Czech Republic, the average value of technical efficiency was 94.01% during the analysed time period. Compared to EU member states, this figure was above the EU-13 average (93.71%). Czech milk production in the analysed period and the milk production of almost all other EU countries was characterized by increasing returns to scale. Examination of total factor productivity (TFP) showed that the scale effect and technical efficiency change effect can be considered the main components of TFP changes in Czech milk production. However, the scale effect was more significant in EU-15 countries than the Czech milk sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with an economic assessment of impacts of precision agriculture (PA) on crop production economy. Based on a questionnaire survey and a FADN agricultural product expense-to-revenue ratio survey, it analyses a set of agricultural businesses the structure of which essentially copies the composition of business forms in the Czech Republic's agricultural sector. The economic assessment applies economic analysis methods based on cost calculations and a calculation formula that considers the commodity and species production structure. Based on an analysis of a number of scientific studies, it determines specific cost savings and makes a quantification of the effect of precision agriculture techniques on costs. In all the production areas, the greatest effect caused by application of precision agriculture techniques was quantified for winter wheat. Conversely, the lowest financial effects are shown in the analysed production areas for spring wheat. We also identified differences in the cost savings between spring and winter barley; the greater savings occur for winter barley. Financial effects in the form of reduced production costs were also found for other analysed crops cultivated by the businesses studied. The financial savings for the pea plant are almost comparable to those for winter barley. The greatest financial savings were achieved for sugar beet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many authors all over the world attempt to perform time series analyses (at differing levels of expertise) in their published works. Knowledge of quantitative information is necessary for decision making in any domain. Therefore, it is more desirable to enter this field of problems and examine and develop everything that has been offered by these modern methodologies. In time series forecasting, the extrapolation methods are applied most frequently in practice. Currently, the combined models have been increasingly employed in experiments - these represent an aggregation of prognoses obtained from various separate models. The study presented is aimed at such new approaches, i.e. the construction of combined prediction models that are more realistic, more flexible and more concise in the time series modelling. This paper focuses on a subsequent assessment of combined prognoses constructed and a comparison of these with selected separate models having participated in the aggregate prognoses making. In order to obtain an efficient product, the Time Series Forecasting System (TSFS) component has been employed, being a component of the SAS programme system. For quality assessment of the models constructed, the assessment criteria selected in advance have been applied. The results of this empirical study have shown that in the domain of estimation of future foodstuffs consumption development, the techniques illustrated in this paper by examples of long-term time series from foodstuffs consumption area in the Czech Republic (CR), can be employed with success. This way represents a suitable supplement to complex econometric models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the analysis of selected profitability indicators of Czech agricultural businesses of legal entities and their subcomponents, based on DuPont analysis. The effect of asset turnover ratio, net profit margin ratio and equity multiplier on the value of return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) is studied in relation to the legal form and size group. The analysis of the effect of sub-indicators is performed by way of a correlation analysis. Furthermore, the assumption about the influence of sub-components indicators on synthetic profitability ratios is verified. The panel data set we used was obtained from the Amadeus database. The analytical section is based upon accounting statements of agricultural businesses of legal entities in the Czech Republic within the period of 2011 - 2015. The analysis is based on the calculated values of ROA and ROE, including partial values of the sub-components indicator, by using DuPont analysis. The differences between the groups of businesses are tested through correlation analysis and subsequently evaluated with respect to the specifics of each group. The object of examination was more than 3000 companies annually, on average. The evaluated companies were divided, in terms of legal form, into joint-stock companies, cooperatives and limited liability companies, and in terms of size structure into small, medium and large businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designed paper is focused on the analysis of public goods in the form of greenhouse gas emissions in livestock production in Czechia. The main aim of the paper is to quantify the amount and valuation of greenhouse gas emissions produced in beef cattle breed (dairy and meat), pig breed, and poultry breed (meat and eggs). The partial aim of this paper is to compare greenhouse gas emissions production across sectors of livestock production and to evaluate a development of volume, value and share of emissions as a form of public goods. The methodology is based on the conceptual model MITERRA-Europe (The model was developed to assess the effects and interactions of policies and measures in agriculture on N losses and P balances at a regional level in EU-27), which is partly based on the CAPRI (Common Agricultural Policy Regionalised Impact) and the GAINS (Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) models using the tools for quantification of the emission factors indicators defined by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) organizations. Part of the solution is to determine the value of public goods quantified through a European platform for carbon emissions trading with its futures contract based on the EU Allowances. The result of this paper is quantified emission value of public goods in livestock production in Czechia and their appreciation in the period 2000-2014. In the final consequence is quantified the proportion of the value of public goods in the total production of the ana lyzed livestock sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the area of time series analysis and prediction there are comparatively many methods available, out of which the extrapolation method has been practically applied most often. Currently, combined models have been serving more and more in experimentation. This study is aimed at construction of adequate models of the indicators observed development tendencies, assessment of selected individual models and subsequent aggregation of these into combined models, including a comparative analysis of both types of models. To find suitable candidates for predicting within the time series analysed, SAS system has been used. Outcomes of the empirical study have shown promising results in the use of combined models for time series processing. The techniques presented in the paper are illustrated with examples of short-term time series on monthly and quarterly basis, in the field of mobile telecommunication services, their consumption and use in various regions of the Czech Republic. A description of the current state of use of selected services in separate CR regions, including urban and rural areas, is a natural part of the paper. ICT including mobile phones and use of mobile services, especially in rural areas, is still widely discussed topic. The research was prepared with the support of the Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Economics and Management of the Czech University of Life Sciences, within the project „Methodological approaches to identify problematic regions in the border areas of the Czech Republic"(No. 20151035). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper present the results for the influence of investment costs into biogas station on the amount of emissions from the agricultural sector. For the evaluation is applied structural analysis of major factors affecting the level of CO2 emissions from agriculture. Among these factors are: the number of animals (converted to livestock units), cost of investment in biogas plants, the quantity of nitrogen fertilizers and the total amount of CO2 emissions from agriculture. The results show that the investment costs haven't significant influence despite the correct direction of effect. Significant impact on CO2 emissions from agriculture have the numbers of animals (respectively cattle units). In the case of applications reviewed model from the Czech Republic to selected countries of the EU shows that the highest investment costs and also decrease CO2 equivalent emissions from agricultural biogas plants is in Germany. The high number of agricultural biogas plants is also evident in Italy and the United Kingdom. Investment costs are in these two countries in the range of 115 to 144 mld. CZK. Furthermore, it is evident that the significant investment costs are incurred by the smaller countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium). Investment costs in this case are in the range 10-33 mld. CZK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agris On-Line Papers in Economics & Informatics is the property of Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Consulting Center of the Faculty of Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper deals with the assessment of price transmission in partial chains of soft milling wheat on example of the Czech Republic. The price transmission examination is accompanied by an international comparison of analyzed topic. The analysis is carried out for the chain of smooth flour, white baked goods and consumer bread. In all cases, the relation of the farm-gate price - wholesale price - consumer price is examined. The aim of the article is to address the question of whether all of the partial product chains of soft milling wheat can be considered identical in terms of the formation of the price and its transmission to other levels. The analysis itself is based upon variables in the form of time series containing monthly data for the period of January 1999 - October 2011, the time series contain 154 observations. Subsequently, the possibility of the results generalization was verified based on the results of the price transmission in period of January 2012 - December 2015. Price transmission is modeled with the utilization of the Vector Error Correction Model and co-integration analysis. The research showed certain congruent features of the analyzed chains, which can be further generalized. However, significant differences were also established, which constitute the uniqueness of each chain. One-way relations were established on some market levels, while mutual relations were established on others. Overall, the relations in the analyzed agri-food chains can be considered long-term, inelastic and demand-driven. Price transmissions in the chains do occur, individual changes in partial prices are followed by the relevant reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the market concentration in the Czech food and beverages industry over the period of 2003-2014, to quantify disparities among particular sectors and to investigate the trend of market concentration. The concept of convergence is applied when investigating the trend in the long term. The market concentration in the Czech food and beverages industry has increased on average. In sectors with relatively low market concentration in 2003, the values of concentration increased more rapidly after 2003. On the contrary, the most concentrated sectors tend to change slowly over time and the concentration in some sectors even declined. On the basis of the absolute ß-convergence model estimation, it was concluded that there is a trend for convergence of the market concentration in the long run to one and the same point for all sectors of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays simple usability is one of the key tasks of web portals, especially if these are main information portals of the government. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the usability of a web portal eAGRI (eagri.cz) in terms of unregistered users. This means in terms of general public in particular. The main purpose of the testing is to highlight the issues that users may encounter on this portal and determine the level of portal usability. Our usability testing was focused on a public part of the portal. The main idea of eAGRI portal is to create a central access point to information resources of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and its subordinate organizations. Qualitative research methods were applied. Specifically, we used Heuristic evaluation as a usability inspection method and three methods of usability testing: 5 second test, 30 second test and Formalized think-aloud test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study aims to shed light on the dynamic linkages among investments, technical efficiency and productivity of food processing at a sectoral level. We use data obtained from meat and milk processing firms operating in the Czech Republic. The data set covers a period from 2011 to 2015. Being based on a production function frontier framework and the Divisia index our study is focuses on the estimation of technical efficiency and productivity of Czech Food processing firms in connection with the received investments. The results of the conducted analysis have shown that investments, directed to a production process of meat and milk processing firms operating in the Czech Republic, do have a positive effect on their technical efficiency. Moreover, it provides an opportunity to increase the capacity of raw milk processing. Higher TFP in food processing industry may result in higher TFP in agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with an estimate and analysis of the value of regional net fixed capital stock and the age structure of machinery and equipment in Czech agriculture. In order to perform such analysis, the official model of perpetual inventory method is transformed into the Markov chain model and applied on regional data separately. Regional net fixed capital stock is presented for the period o f 2008-2013. The development of the average age of machinery and equipment comprises a potential indicator of the modernisation process in the industry. The analysis of the age structure is based on the structure heterogeneity indicator. For these purposes, the real age structure in each Czech region is compared with the theoretical stable and stationary structure. Currently, the most heterogeneous age structure of machinery and equipment occurs in Prague and the Karlovy Vary region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provision of quality public services has been in great concern of many governments for longer period of time. An interesting fact could be observed that, as to the demand and supply of digital public services, some developed European countries could lag behind some upper-middle-income countries. The paper explores differences in digital public services provision (supply side) and use (demand side) between the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan. A document analysis was done and a comparative study based on secondary data was elaborated. We can confirm that even a country from outside of the EU (Kazakhstan) can provide a better organized supply of digital services than an EU member state (Czech Republic) at least on the national level. According to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) benchmarking, there are also significant discrepancies among national, regional and local services in the EU. The same phenomenon is also reported from transitional countries like Kazakhstan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agris On-Line Papers in Economics & Informatics is the property of Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Consulting Center of the Faculty of Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The problem of the ageing population of farmers is often mentioned in European discussion on the future sustainability of Agriculture and is addressed by several policy measures including those belonging to the new CAP reform. The goal of this paper is to conceptualise and empirically map the problem of ageing in the Czech Republic. Using secondary data analysis, the paper outlines the basic trends related to changes in the age structure of farmers, including the main parameters of the young and older farmers' holdings. Findings of the study suggest that the Czech Republic belongs among the group of countries which is not so much affected by the problem of ageing and that the differences between farms run by young and older farmers are not as large as in other European countries. Evaluation of the problem is partly distorted by the survey methods used by Eurostat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to express the nature and the extent of changes in the consumer preferences in the context of the oligopolistic multinational chains of fast food restaurants. The methodology of the paper is based on the analysis of growing market shares of fast food restaurants in the Czech Republic using the performance indicators of companies. Among the largest fast food restaurants in the Czech Republic are McDonald's, KFC, Subway and the new fast food chain Parky's. McDonald's market share in terms of output is currently 46% of the fast food market. The paper therefore analyzes the last part of the agri-food vertical with clear consequence on the demand for agricultural commodities and for food as a whole. This study is supported by the Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (Projects No. 20141025 - The growing share of fast food restaurants in consumer demand). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Agris On-Line Papers in Economics & Informatics is the property of Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Consulting Center of the Faculty of Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The main objective is to verify whether it is possible to confirm differences in price policy not only in the division of chains according to the format of the shops but also in relation to Czech and foreign food and whether these findings can be clearly identified. The partial objective is to find the difference between Czech and foreign products in the context of chain approach according to other criteria such as price differences among products and among chains. There are eleven chains evaluated in the tables as well as 29 relevant food groups. The used underlying data is based on the data processed from the primary data obtained by the data collection in the retail chains. The average number of observations of one item, which is about 43 observations, of which 37 observations of Czech products and about 29 products with price. Only Lidl has a higher number of price observations from the total number of observations of foreign products. In the area of price policy evaluation (whether it is possible to confirm the differences not only in the division of the chains according to the format of the stores, but also in relation to Czech and foreign foods and identify clearly these findings), the difference is considered mainly according to the "low price" of food and it can be said that there are noticeable differences among the chains, which also confirm different approach to Czech and foreign food and differences according to the format of chain stores. This paper originated in the context of the exploratory study „Prices of selected Czech and foreign food products in retail chains in November 2016". The study was created for the needs of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of the paper is to assess the extent and exploitation of agricultural land in the CR and EU countries based on selected macro-socioeconomic indicators in order to determine the position of the CR and future desirable exploitation, protection and stabilisation of agricultural land in the CR. The following methods will be employed in order to meet the objective: (1) The Coefficient of Geographical Association (CGA) and my own modified coefficients of association reflecting the impact of exploitation of agricultural land on indicators of the country's economic level. (2) Comparison (shrinkage of agricultural land, workforce in agriculture and market price of agricultural land in selected countries). (3) The Coefficient of Ecological Stability to assess the extent of stable and unstable areas in EU-27 countries. The following data are used for calculations: Eurostat (2009, 2015), World Bank and FAOSTAT (1993-2014). The extent of agricultural land in the CR (2014/1993) has been decreasing more slowly than in the detailed comparison countries (5 countries with the lowest CGA). The price of the agricultural land (2014) is lower than in France, Germany and Poland; nevertheless, the actual price rates are not as contrasting against these countries if purchase parity is considered. The Coefficient of Ecological Stability ranks the Czech Republic in the second half of the list of EU-27 countries (22nd place). While the ecological stability of land has decreased slightly in Germany and France (2009-2015), an improvement has occurred in the CR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the economics of information systems is a difficult task. In addition to classical approaches to the economic evaluation of information systems, attention is paid to individual processes and workflows. The quality of information systems functionality is based on a quality workflow processes. A poorly designed workflow of the information system leads to a number of errors and problems in exchanging information within the system. The lower the error rate and the higher the efficiency of individual activities, the higher the economic value of the information system and as the case may be, of other analytical, expert or decision systems in the organisation. In this paper, known principles of cohesion and coupling are used. The selected real process is evaluated within the framework of the agricultural information system operated by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. In the article is created a design the structure of information elements of the modelled workflow, measured cohesion and coupling and compared with two alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the effects of sectoral determinants on profitability of the Czech food processing industry over the period of years 2003-2014. Large micro-level sample (N = 10,509) for 12 years and across 9 food subsectors in the Czech Republic was utilized to create a sectoral panel dataset, which was used in the empirical analysis. As for the methods, regression models with fixed effects were employed. Sectoral profitability served as the dependent variable in regressions and it was operationalized by two variables, i.e. ROA and ROE. Both profitability indicators revealed the same influence of investigated determinants. Obtained results reported positive influence of higher market concentration on sectoral profitability and also the increase of productivity was associated with the increase of ROA and ROE. It was confirmed that high indebtedness affects the profitability negatively. Contrary to the expectations, the effect of the import penetration on the profitability was not proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiency, productivity and competitiveness are important indicators of any production process. Speaking of agriculture and, in particular, animal husbandry in the light of sustainable development context, the values of these indicators become of special importance. Since adequate and efficient usage of disposable labour, land and capital can play a crucial role in obtaining and preserving higher efficiency and productivity levels, the natural question arises - does any relationship exist between mentioned production factors and revealed comparative advantage? The main aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship between export-measured productivity and comparative advantages in animal husbandry of selected European countries. The benchmark is provided in relation to the Czech Republic. To analyse productivity of agricultural and, more specifically, animal production in the European countries selected for the analysis (based on available balanced data incorporating the period from 2005 to 2017), a decision was made to trace export performance of these countries recalculated with regard to a unit of core productive factors, such as land, labour and capital. Based on the foreign trade indicators (Gruber Lloyd index, RCA index), cluster analysis was conducted, in which individual calculation was used as an input variable. Subsequently, hierarchical clustering and Ward's method were used. The evidence from this study suggests that the revealed comparative advantage of the countries is not determined primarily by the level of export-based productivity. The relationship between these variables is rather weak and very often negative, which indicates that productivity indicators do not play a significant role in the overall competitiveness of the monitored countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meat industry is one of the key sectors within the food industry in the Czech Republic. Development, especially in the pork production, is unfavourable. Negative foreign trade balance and low self-sufficiency is reported. Czech market products compete with foreign imports of meat and economic performance of enterprises plays an important role in this field. Article aims to identify qualitative factors limiting the competitiveness of the meat industry and to identify groups of enterprises with key position. The size of a company was confirmed as an only factor limiting the competitiveness. Statistically significant differences among the three performance indicators (out of the four analysed) were demonstrated. The larger the enterprise, the greater values of indicators are. Form of company ownership, drawing subsidies and region of the company cannot be confirmed as factors influencing the eco nomic performance and competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is having a major impact on various sectors such as agriculture and water management due to changes in the distribution of rainfall. Mitigation of climate change impacts can be achieved through early detection of these changes by monitoring systems and the adoption of appropriate adaptation measures. One of the main goals is to design and develop a next generation monitoring and alerting system to support the optimization of water and soil nutrient management in agricultural domain. Sensors and sensor data management play an important in this kind of monitoring systems. A complete sensor data chain was developed based on modern wireless sensor networks and IoT technologies that covers the data gathering up to the data publication by interoperable interfaces. The monitoring system was tested on vineyards in pilot localities in Czech Republic and in Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to identify the degree of direct payments concentration in selected Central and Eastern European Member States (compared to the entire EU) and outline the perspectives and recommendations for the next programming period. The spatial scope of the study includes Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Bulgaria. The time scope covers the period 2009–2019. The survey indicates that the payments distribution in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and to a lesser extent also in Poland, is highly unbalanced. The analysed countries used the redistribution instruments, optional for the Member States, which were introduced by the 2013 CAP reform, to a moderate extent, in order to ensure a more even funds distribution between the beneficiaries. It cannot be ruled out that instruments ensuring a more even funds distribution would be politically easier to introduce at the EU level than at the national level. Nevertheless, also in the next financial perspective, in line with the subsidiarity principle, this issue is left to the Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to determine the relationship between working capital and profitability of companies operating in the food industry in the Czech Republic and then find out how working capital affects the profitability of these companies from 2009 to 2019. In the first part of the research we estimate the links between working capital measured by variables such as cash conversion cycle, current assets ratio, current liabilities ratio, working capital ratio and corporate profitability measured by return on sales. In the next part of the research, we estimate the effect of working capital measured by variables such as cash conversion cycle, current assets ratio, current liabilities ratio, working capital ratio on corporate profitability measured by return on sales. Correlation analysis and the GMM method will be used to determine the relationship between working capital and the profitability of companies and how working capital affects the profitability of these companies. The results of the correlation analysis showed statistically significant links between return on sales and variables such as cash conversion cycle, current assets ratio, current liabilities ratio and working capital ratio. The results of the GMM method showed a statistically significant effect of variables such as cash conversion cycle, current assets ratio, current liabilities ratio and working capital ratio on the profitability of companies measured by the return on sales indicator. All mitigated effects have been demonstrated for companies operating in the food industry as a whole, as well as in the production of food products and beverages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to show different consumer behaviour between ten different income levels (deciles) and different countries and to examine the elasticity distance between income deciles in the UK (a high-income country) and the Czech Republic (a low-income country) within the context of meat consumption. The official statistic services provided data in the Czech Republic (Czech Statistical Office, 2020) and the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2020). Data on the Czech Republic come from the household budget surveys (HBS). In contrast, corresponding data on UK consumers was drawn from the Living Costs and Food survey, which succeeded the National food survey and household expenditure survey. Both sets of data were set according to households' structure from the EU-SILC Survey (national module of the European Union - Statistics on Income and Living Conditions). To estimate the income elasticity of meat in the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom in different consumer income groups, a time series cointegration analysis was applied to analyse the annual data for 2000-2017. The Törnquist equation and the difference between income elasticity in monetary and natural expression show saturation and preference of high quality meat in the higher-income consumers in the UK than the same groups in the Czech Republic and overall increasing demand for quality in other income groups. The results support the theory of nutrition transitions. The value of the research is that it would enable the exploration of the potential impact and nature of fiscal interventions for improving diets whilst enabling food producers to forecast meat consumption within the different customer segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the factors influencing the emergence of disparities between rural and urban regions is the varying level of financial inclusion of the population. The system of microfinancing is becoming an important mechanism against poverty and social exclusion in Europe. However, there is available very limited legal, regulatory and historical information on the microfinance system in the Czech Republic. As a result, microfinance institutions are absent and small entrepreneurs tend to use expensive consumer credit products, thereby increasing the risk of over-indebtedness. The aim of this research is to examine the repayment performance of the European microfinance institutions with increased share of clients from rural areas. Based on an empirical statistical analysis of an unique European microfinance institutions' database, we are presenting evidence that suggests that microfinance systems perform better in rural than in urban areas. This finding is strongly recommended for consideration in the development of policies to guide legal frameworks regarding microfinancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to derive and apply the hedonic approach for determining and updating official land prices with respect to e.g. the impact of climate change that has occurred in the conditions of the Czech Republic in recent years. Pricing using the hedonic method is based on capturing individual factors separately. The evaluated soil ecological unit code consists of a 5-digit numerical code, which expresses the affiliation to the climate region (0-9, see table 1), the main soil unit (0-78), the slope of the land and the orientation to the point of the compass (0-9) and also the depth of the soil profile and skeletality (0-9). The derived hedonic pricing model is estimated using heteroscedasticity corrected estimator. The fitted model shows considerably high explanatory power and together with high parameter significance for majority of dummy variables (soil characteristics) as well as with theoretical and logical consistency represent a tool for new official land price settings in the process of land reevaluation due to the erosion and climate change effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recruitment is one of the most important human resource management tools in the field of agriculture with reference to the current state of the labour market and the concept Agriculture 4.0. The first part of this article concentrates on the recruitment, on-line recruitment and recruitment methods. The second part evaluates the results of a quantitative survey carried out in the Czech Republic. The principal aim of this research project is to identify aspects in recruitment in the field of agriculture. Data were obtained by means of an electronic questionnaire completed by Czech agricultural enterprises (N=980). For data evaluation Chi-squared test was used. The survey shows that agricultural enterprises mostly prefer traditional methods for recruitment i.e. employee referral - 91.4%; internal recruitment - 81.4%. If on-line recruitment is used, then the website of the enterprise (55.1%) is usually exploited. Moreover, the enterprises surveyed make less use of "mobile recruiting" - such as pracezarohem (11.4%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim is a verification whether dairy cow breeders in the Czech Republic are able to compete and have the same conditions for milk production as the state of European Union after the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union. This evaluation is above all in the main cost items for milk depending on the amount of milk yield of cows. A partial aim is an evaluation of development of number of dairy cows and milk production in the monitored period 2000 - 2015. This judgement is used for monitoring of effects of quotas on the number and production part of dairy cows. Also the development of milk purchase prices was evaluated in the original EU 15 states and the Czech Republic. Within the evaluation of the main aim, four main cost items influencing the total dairy cow breeding were judged. The main items are costs for feed, labour costs, costs for veterinary care, and cost for breeding services. This main cost items have an effect beside the milk production on the health state of dairy cows and on reproduction because with the right function of reproductive organs a new onset of lactation curve happens and thereby an induction of higher milk yields with use of high-quality feeds. The used data are based on interview survey in milk producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to determine the impact of debt funding sources structure on liquidity of companies in food industry in the Czech Republic from 2006 to 2016. With the purpose to fulfill the aim, we examine existence and character of relationship between the debt funding sources structure (long-term loans, short-term loans, other long-term liabilities, other short-term liabilities, debt equity ratio) and liquidity of the companies (cash ratio, quick ratio and current ratio) in food industry in the Czech Republic. The relationship between debt funding sources structure and liquidity of companies is tested through correlation analysis, Granger causality test and generalized method of moments (GMM). The liquidity of companies was positively influenced by the long-term loans in companies (cash ratio and quick ratio) in food industry in the Czech Republic. The results also indicate that there is the negative impact of other current liabilities on liquidity of companies (cash ratio, quick ratio and current liquidity) in food industry in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of growing importance of data, information and knowledge in companies has become very actual issue of the quality of their processing through the information system modules. Using of modules of the management information systems for qualified analyzes conducted over primary data stored in companies in the Czech Republic is not too widespread. The aim of this article is based on a long-term investigation conducted to analyze the situation and propose for agricultural holdings architecture management information system for farmers to support their decision-making activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to determine the reasons for the number of microbreweries increasing in the Czech Republic. The analysis compares various (micro)brewing industry indicators in selected traditional beerdrinking countries. The research questions are focused on relations among number of microbreweries and demographic aspects, market concentration aspects and some other beer market indicators. Furthermore, there were made simulation - for which conditions will be in the Czech Republic 400, 500 and 1 000 microbreweries. Statistically significant dependency on the number of microbreweries are beer market concentration (Gini index), the percentage of the total population made up of the 25 - 39 years age group, and the share of domestic beer consumption in cans. Since the beginning of Economic crisis the number of Czech microbreweries has been increasing exponentially and the results suggest that the microbrewery boom will have been continuing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article analyzes chosen aspects of Internet of Things (IoT) in general and in regards to its specific uses in agriculture, which is one of the areas where IoT is commonly implemented. It serves as a primary delve into the issues of IoT as part of the grant received from Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Economics and Management at CULS Prague called "Potential use of the Internet of Things, with emphasis on rural development and agrarian sector". Article overviews IoT equipment categorization, platforms, standards and network solutions. It focuses on network infrastructure, which is the foundation for IoT implementation. The specific environmental conditions of Czech Republic are also taken into account. Lastly, basic development trends of IoT are defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decline in the production capability of land affects the creation of farmers' revenues, the effective utilization of agricultural land, its qualitative and quantitative degradation, as well as the competitiveness of Czech agriculture. The results of the IAEI Prague research show that the annual economic loss due to a decline in the quality of land in the Czech Republic within the analyzed period of the years 2009-2012 is approximately CZK 385 mil. (MoA, 2012a). The aim of the article is to evaluate the potential connections between the change in the quality of land and selected subsidies that should primarily be affecting the effective utilization of agricultural land and the continual sustainability of its production capability. In the research, the methods of correlation and comparison were used. The relationship between the amount of paid subsidies (SAPS+TNA, AEM, LFA) and after changing the production ability of soils (difference GARE) was not confirmed. A statistically significant relationship was found only in the subsidies NATURE 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of organic farms in the Czech Republic is increasing as well as the number of organic winemaking enterprises. The article deals with an evaluation and comparison of the economic situation of organic and conventional winemaking enterprises in the Czech Republic. An economic analysis of the 75 enterprises accounting data from 2007 to 2011 has been done. The financial analysis indicators, bankruptcy models, efficiency indicator and performance indicators were calculated. In order to compare the values of the respective indicators the t-test was used. The performed analysis confirmed a better economic situation of organic winemaking enterprises. Winemaking businesses - whether organic or conventional - are capable of a good financial management and generate profit even without the aid of any subsidies. This article was created as a part of IGA 20141046 project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim is to assess selected determinants which influence the conversion of the Czech farmers from conventional to organic or biodynamic agriculture. We assess farm's efficiency (calculated by SFA), whether farm obtains AEM or LFA payments, if the farmer is "young" and the holding is a micro firm, and region. A random effects logistic regression model was estimated on the panel of Czech farms in 2005-2012. The results showed that efficiency of the farm is not a significant driver of conversion. On the other hand, the odds that the farm will change land management are significantly higher if it obtains subsidies. Also when the farm has < 10 employees and the farmer is > 40 years, the odds that it will switch are higher. If the farm is located Olomoucký region or Vysočina the odds for conversion are lower. The research is financed from IGA the grant No. 11110/1312/3160 of FEM, CULS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the frame of the entire economy, the modern conception of Age Management enables each and every employee to use their full potential without being put at a disadvantage for age reasons. Despite the fact that this area is important in terms of current demographic development, there are organisations that do not implement its measures. The article therefore concentrates on the identification and evaluation of Age Management application by Czech agricultural businesses. The data analysed was obtained based on a quantitative survey in which data was collected by means of a questionnaire survey (total companies: n=315, agricultural businesses: na=60). The outcomes show that Czech agricultural businesses are not quite familiar with the application of Age Management measures. One of the conclusions of the article is that from the social point of view Age Management measures may help improve the situation on the labour market, labour productivity, encourage young people to work in the agricultural sector and, last but not least, build, on the organisational level, an employer's brand. Application of Age Management causes on the employees performance but also on the costs reduce and p rofit increase. This contribution is a follow-up to the project of University - wide internal grant agency (CIGA), number 20141002 - Human resource branding using of the new strategic trends in organisations in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The price of agricultural land in the Czech Republic is significantly lower than in other EU states; however, its fertility and method of cultivation does not differ from surrounding countries. Agricultural land area in the CR is decreasing about 12 ha/day (MoA, 2012). Arable land in the CR is losing its production value, from a food security standpoint, through the conversion of arable land into perennial cultures or permanent grassland, outplanting of fast-growing woody plants, afforestation, etc. The main aim of the research was to analyse developments in the state of agricultural land in the CR in the period 2001-2013. Result: One negative phenomenon is the fact that a larger decrease in agricultural land is happening even on higher-quality lands (an evaluation according to the average official price based on CSEU - Classified Soil-Ecological Units). The decrease in qualitatively better agricultural land in selected regions (50.1 % of the ALF CR - Agricultural Land Fund of the Czech Republic) is lower in comparison with the nationwide decrease. The development of the decrease in arable land in the three qualitatively worst regions of the CR, within the monitored period, is significantly higher than the CR average; however, farming on lower-quality lands is not economically advantageous. A deeper evaluation of twenty-one districts in the CR (30.15 % of the ALF CR) shows that only three districts are experiencing a positive development in the relative changes in the state of agricultural land in relation to the area of the district. 13 districts have relative decreases lower than the relative decrease in the CR. A partial aim was to find out whether there is any dependency between the size of a municipality (according to the number of inhabitants) and a change in the acreage of agricultural land, especially from the viewpoint of decreases in agricultural land. From a sample of 56 municipalities, no strong dependence between the monitored quantities was proven. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]