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The European Union (EU) provides both financial and expert support for sustainable forest management initiatives and also boosts compliance with such initiatives in Africa. Thus, there is a need to monitor the progress of implementing such initiatives. The objective of this paper is to describe the role of timber harvesting entities in environmental impact discussions, and to also identify the role of EU institutions in promoting forest sustainability in Sierra Leone. Data were collected in a controlled survey from four communities, using a questionnaire formulated according to guidelines recommended by Babbie and Mouton (2010). The reliability test shows a 0.68 internal consistency among the latent variables (Cronbach alpha test). The selected four communities were Bambawo, Dia, Basara, and Menima, with a population of 6 000, 5 400, 7 500, and 5 600 inhabitants, respectively (Stats SL 2021). A Confirmatory Factor Assessment (CFA) was used for a descriptive statistical analysis of the data. The results showed that the environmental impact has an eigenvalue of 1.08, where only variables with a factor loading exceeding 0.5 were used. The paper concludes with discussions and relevant recommendations on mitigating the impacts of timber harvesting on the environment within the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses 24 European Union countries in terms of food security in 2021. In this paper, we develop a composite food security index considering various weights of indicators. The data were obtained from the FAOSTAT and Eurostat databases. The weights of 10 input indicators were estimated using a principal component analysis-based factor analysis model. The results showed that the harmonised index of consumer prices -- food had the greatest impact on the food security index, while the impact of median equivalised net income and moderate or severe food insecurity had the lowest impact. Ireland achieved the highest ranking according to the Food Security Index. Bulgaria experienced the most unfavourable situation among EU countries. Slovakia ranked 22nd out of 24 countries due to its lowest protein supply, including animal-derived proteins. As part of the analysis, our research compared the food security index with the official Global Food Security Index. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of 0.84 indicated a robust correlation between the two indexes. Consequently, this newly developed Food Security Index is appropriate for assessing the food security status of European Union countries. Furthermore, it broadens the assessment of food security by including countries that are not in the commonly used Global Food Security Index (GFSI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographical indication (GI) represents the specific good quality and reputation of the regional characteristics of agricultural products, which is a positive approach for stabilising the export of agricultural products, realising high quality and high prices for agricultural products and rural revitalisation. Based on the China-EU Geographical Indications Agreement, this paper discusses the differences between China and the European Union (EU) in terms of GI protection from three aspects: the institutional framework, the operational system, and the operational status of GIs. The purpose of the study is to identify the differences between China and the EU in the protection of GIs, China's shortcomings, and gaps, and to propose policy recommendations for China to protect GI products better, exploit the economic impact of GIs and enhance the competitiveness of China's exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this paper is to compare the relative technical efficiency of agriculture in Western Balkan countries to those of the European Union and to propose ways to improve the position of Western Balkan countries. The group of Western Balkan countries includes Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania, which are candidate countries for European Union membership, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is currently a potential candidate. An input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model with the variable return to scale was applied to an 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Input variables used in the model included labour, land, and capital, and the output was presented as the value of agricultural production. The highest average technical efficiency was achieved by the EU15 countries for the entire eleven-year period, while the Western Balkan countries had the lowest score. The source of this inefficiency was identified in lower levels of agricultural performance, e.g. a lower-level use of the primary production factors - labour and land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable intensification (SI) is a widely discussed concept that aims to increase agricultural production without harming the environment. This study assessed the process of SI that took place in the EU regions from 2004 to 2018 and the impact of structural and weather-related factors. In doing so, a single index based on DEA environmentally adjusted efficiency and kernel regression were applied to data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) Public Database and the Agri4Cast resource portal. The study found an overall positive trend of SI in the EU regions in which land and animal concentration had a significant impact on this process. Sun radiation, as the only significant weather variable, had a decreasing impact on efficiency due to potential droughts. The findings emphasise the need for political support for regions with a low degree of SI and for those particularly affected by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary sector plays a key role in any country, from both economic and social perspectives, as has been underscored by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In Europe, this sector is highly dependent on the aid provided under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Therefore, the distribution of this aid among the various recipients is crucial to maintaining a strong primary sector throughout the European Union (EU). This is especially true in light of the new funding for the period from 2021 to 2027 and the United Kingdom's departure from the EU. In this sense, the 93.5% of the first pillar of CAP aid consists of direct aid to farmers. The related literature has shown its effect on aspects such as sustainability and farmers' income, among others, and its distribution in specific geographical areas. In this vein, the present paper conducts a longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of the distribution of aid across EU countries. The results show that the CAP reforms and the incorporation of countries into the EU influenced the distribution of aid. Moreover, there is a clear division between Eastern and Western EU countries, with a more equitable distribution of aid in the West. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper was to analyse changes in food consumption patterns in the European Union (EU) countries and link these patterns with food production and imports. The two research questions posed by the authors were as follows i): are the structures of the consumption, production and importation of food becoming more similar or more diverse among EU countries, and ii) are changes in food consumption patterns caused by changes in domestic production, or has food been imported to a greater extent from abroad. The study investigated countries which that have been continuously keeping relevant statistics since 1961. The food consumption structures recorded in the years 1961-1969 and 2010-2017 were compared among these countries. Following this, the countries were grouped into subsets using the criterion of greatest similarity in terms of food consumption structures. The same was done in the case of their food production and imports. The study found that countries were becoming increasingly similar in terms of their consumption patterns. An opposite situation occurred concerning food production. In the case of food imports, structural diversity between countries decreased. It follows that changes in food consumption patterns mainly occurred through the adjustment of imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the changes in the spatial structure of agricultural holdings in the European Union between 2010 and 2016 from the perspective of typological groups of countries. The research was conducted based on Eurostat data. The holdings were divided into the following groups: up to 5 ha of agricultural land (AL), 5-20 ha, 20-50 ha, and over 50 ha. Based on the fuzzy classification method, 4 typological groups of countries with a similar spatial structure of holdings were distinguished. The intergroup diversity is high. The dynamics of changes in the number of holdings in particular countries per typological group was presented. A downward trend in the total number of holdings and smallholdings was observed, in particular in countries characterised by a fragmented structure of holdings. In these countries, an upward trend in the number of holdings of 20-50 ha and over 50 ha was noted. Between 2010 and 2016, the structure and composition of typological groups changed. There were also slight changes (in different directions) in the structural distance between the groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural importance in determining the directions of respective regions results from its production potential. The agricultural potential of a given country is determined by natural resources, ways of using them, natural conditions, workforce resources, technical resources and basic economic conditions. In this paper, only income and rural population are taken under consideration to describe the agricultural potential. Currently, European Union countries are functioning under the assumptions of the Common Agricultural Policy, assuming, among other things, increasing agricultural productivity, ensuring an adequate standard of living for the rural population and stabilising markets. The European Union (EU) is one of the world's leading exporters and importers of agricultural products. The obtained results allowed the identification in 2010 and 2018 of countries with high and low values of income and population potential. It is characteristic that within both potentials, population and income, the countries with the lowest potentials are the most numerous group. Poland and Romania stand out against the background of all countries, where due to the high share of people working in agriculture, the population's potential has the highest values. Denmark is also an outstanding country for which income potential has the highest value. This study aims to examine the diversity of selected elements of agricultural potential in the European Union countries. The research was conducted using, among other potential models and global and local spatial autocorrelation statistics. The analysis covered the years 2010 and 2018 by applying statistical data (Eurostat, Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the dynamics of comparative advantage in agri-food products between Nigeria and the European Union (EU28). Using 'products mapping' approach based on trade balance index (TBI), Balassa index (BI), Lafay index (LFI) and other descriptive approaches, the findings show that Nigeria substantially recorded adverse TBI in trading both with the world and the EU28. The share of total Nigerian food exports and imports which the EU28 accounted for, declined from 72% and 40% to 37% and 27% between 1995 and 2017, respectively. The findings of both BI and LFI reveals that between 1995 and 2017, Nigeria's comparative advantages in trading in the world market declined from 12/46 to 8/46 food products. Similarly, Nigeria's trade with the EU28 comparative advantages reduced from 12/46 to 9/46 food products. Inversely, the food products that Nigeria has comparative disadvantages and negative TBI in trading with the EU28 rose from 31/46 to 35/46. For Nigeria, to boost its exports and competitiveness, especially in products that the country has natural advantages in producing, there is an urgent need for increasing investment and implementing policies on domestic agricultural and food value chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is one of the biggest traders of agricultural products. In 2017, extra-EU agricultural trade accounted for 7.4% of the total EU international trade. Furthermore, Europe is the main destination for agricultural goods arriving from African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trading partners. The paper analyses the effect of geographical proximity, cultural similarity, free trade agreements on bilateral agricultural trade as well as intra-industry trade between EU member states and its trading partners (intra and extra EU trade), employing gravity model for a period of 1996-2017. Regression results suggest that EU countries export more agricultural products to their common markets. In addition, the export costs of agricultural products are lower if the EU and its external trading partners are culturally similar; have the same religion or both have regional trade agreements. We found a moderate intra-industry trade between the EU and ACP countries at 18%. The results indicate rather inter-industry trade between EU and non-EU members, with a lower index level for ACP countries. A higher positive impact is revealed on the agricultural import between ACP-EU countries than export. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the paper is to evaluate the impact of the Russian import ban on the development of agricultural exports from EU member states. The study is based on a time-series analysis of empirical statistical indicators. The analysed period is between 2009 and 2019. The source of data for individual analyses is UN Comtrade (2021). The valuation of export performance is extended by hierarchical cluster analysis. The study quantifies the effects of the import ban on the EU and individual member states through two scenarios. Scenario 1 is based on the cumulative loss of the value of exports. Scenario 2 assumes a continuous development of the value of agricultural exports. Based on the results, it is possible to confirm that the application of the Russian food import ban had a significant impact on EU countries. The impact of sanctions varies across EU countries. Four specific clusters could be identified in the period under investigation. In the period after the ban, the distribution of individual countries among individual clusters changed significantly. The applied ban could be understood not only as an attempt at counter-sanctions. Import restrictions also aim to reduce Russia's dependence on food imports and promote national food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies have noted the importance of measurement tools that track the contributions of the circular bioeconomy and other developments towards sustainable development. In this study, we examined the EU-27 as a whole and found that its circular bioeconomy, measured by the 41 indicators we used, generally progressed over the period 2004--2021. Research and development personnel and Persons employed in circular economy sectors were ranked as the most progressing indicators over the studied period, together with Patent applications to the European Patent Office, which supports the idea that the circular bioeconomy uses novel technologies and requires research to develop them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains an evaluation of the differentiation of the production potential and efficiency of farms in the member states of the European Union in 2013-2016. To this end, a taxonomic method - Hellwig's development measure - was used. The study was based on data from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The study results indicate that member states such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Slovakia were characterised by the best agricultural production potential. The first four member states also showed the highest efficiency with regard to the utilisation of production factors. On the other hand, low and average potential and efficiency were characteristic of farms in most of the new member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of land taxation is currently often neglected in scientific articles despite the existence of the land taxation and property taxes in most countries of the European Union. This paper deals with a specific property tax in the Czech Republic - the tax on the acquisition of immovable property. The aim of the paper is, on the one hand, to characterise the tax on the acquisition of immovable property, its general principles and the classification in land taxation, and on the other hand, to analyse the possibilities of a tax entity for the tax base determination and the tax liability calculation. For this purpose, a model example of taxation of the transfer of immovable property for consideration is used, to which the method of the multi-criteria decision-making is applied as an opportunity to use the mathematical methods for the transactional property tax. Based on the method of the multi-criteria analysis of alternatives, it was found that in the model example, it was more advantageous for the tax entity to use the indicative value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses disparity in the performance of farms in the EU countries and identifies their causes. The individual countries are ranked in the paper according to the long-term average of the amount of their agricultural produce per unit of area into seven segments, and the relation between the input of fixed assets, intermediate consumption, labour force, levels of animals, and other aspects are identified for the creation of agricultural production. In terms of its performance, the Slovak agriculture ranks in the last but one seventh segment and in comparison with the advanced countries, it shows a low input of fixed assets, intermediate product, livestock units, but also a lower volume of the provided subsidies than the advanced countries. The Slovak agriculture does not make use of its competitive advantages, which involve mainly the size of businesses, the economies of scale, and the productivity of labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farms in the European Union come in a wide variety of sizes and the effect of farm size on profitability (return on assets - ROA) has not been sufficiently investigated. The principal goal of this paper, therefore, is to study the determinants of farm profitability using the panels of the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) on farms of different economic size between 2007 and 2018. We use a profitability function based on ratios that show the production and financial management strategies used by the farms. We also analyse the impact of subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). To deal with endogeneity, we run dynamic panel models using the system generalised method of moments (sys-GMM) estimators. We highlight the important role of the high level of equity turnover. An increase in production relative to the farm's equity plays a crucial role in the growth of profitability for all groups of farms, but it is especially important for smaller entities. In addition, farm managers should control the level of debt since the debt-to-asset ratio is a highly significant negative determinant of farm profitability in most of the groups. The increase in subsidy rate generally translates into higher ROA, but this variable has a negative impact across the largest holdings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to an analysis of the development of agrarian farms in Visegrad Group (V4) countries, primarily in terms of results and the most important production inputs of production factors and their efficiency in the period from 2004 to 2013 based on the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The results of the analysis show that if farms in the V4 countries want to achieve the same performance as developed countries, they must invest more in purchasing intensification factors and adjust the structure of assets production specification. It will be necessary to stop the reduction in the numbers of livestock and to strive for growth in gross farm income, mainly through the processing of agricultural raw materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies club convergence in relation to labour productivity in the agriculture industry of 28 European Union countries for the period 2005 to 2018. The countries were divided into three groups which were homogeneous in terms of level of development in the agricultural sector. The presence of convergence in the groups of countries was verified by using a panel-data model of conditional ß-convergence. Then, convergence processes were investigated within clubs of countries. Convergence processes took place in the groups of countries with low and medium levels of labour productivity. In the club of countries where labour productivity was high, opposite processes (i.e. divergence) were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reductions of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are an essential objective of the European Union (EU) to achieving the reduction target by 20% by 2020. Along with energy consumption and agriculture, trade has a diverse impact on climate change. International trade usually negatively affects the environment, while the influence of intra-industry trade is more favourable. The paper investigates the impact of energy use, agriculture, and intraindustry trade on environmental pollution in EU countries using panel data for the period 2000-2014. The research frames the theoretical hypothesis that describing the relationship between agricultural intra-industry trade and climate change. The assumptions are confirmed by panel fixed effects, and Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimations, and the panel cointegration test. The empirical results have supported by the literature, and all variables used in this study are stationary applying panel unit root test. Results show that agricultural intra-industry trade, renewable energy is negatively correlated with climate change, confirming the less pollutant hypothesis, while economic growth and agricultural productivity induce environmental problems. This study confirms the theoretical hypotheses explaining the effect of intra-industry trade for agricultural products as well as the impacts of renewable energy use, agricultural land productivity, and economic growth on CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the retail prices of pasteurised milk, purchase prices, and the price relationship between retail prices for pasteurised milk and other food products are analysed for Poland during the period from 2004-2018. In addition, the paper presents factors affecting changes in milk prices in Poland and characterises the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on the milk market. The adoption of a long period of analysis allows for the study of periods of both high and low variability. The data analysis uses various methods including the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the Autoregressive-Moving-Average Model (ARMA). The milk market showed significant response because it was one of the few that was strongly administered by the European Union. These policies led to a significant increase in milk prices in the analysed period. The average price of pasteurised food milk increased by 63% in 2003-2015, and the purchase farm price of milk increased by 91.74%. The situation changed when the production limits were eliminated after 2015. In the initial period after quotas ended, the price of milk decreased and then increased. Similar changes were observed in other EU countries. Even short-term fluctuations associated with economic crises did not significantly affect the milk market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a quantitative ex post analysis of the competitiveness of the Czech Republic's agrifood exports to other European Union (EU) Member States between 2002 and 2020, using the constant market share (CMS) methodology. The application of this methodology to Czech agrifood exports is novel, as it allows for analysing the export competitiveness variation and its components. Although the findings are consistent with those of previous studies in which the investigators used alternative methodological approaches, we make three contributions to the existing literature. Firstly, the Czech Republic experienced an overall increase in its competitiveness in agrifood exports between 2002 and 2020. Secondly, the high territorial specialisation of Czech agrifood exports to other EU Member States, combined with a general slowdown in the growth of EU markets, has had a significant effect on the growth dynamics of the country's agricultural exports. Thirdly, there is a problem with the specialisation profile of Czech agrifood exports in terms of commodity and territorial structure. The current composition does not allow the Czech Republic to reach its full potential for agrifood exports. These findings will help industrial, agricultural and trade policymakers to assess the nature of liberalisation and transformation of the Czech Republic's agricultural sectors, with a view to improving or designing structures and instruments for the promotion of agrifood exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last years have seen a momentous transformation in Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The focus of interventions has shifted from production toward rural development but recognising the role of farmers. Although the attitudes of farmers to CAP have long been previously studied, little attention has been focused on the views of citizens. Using data from the 'Special Eurobarometer 520: Europeans, Agriculture and the CAP', we sought to provide a clearer understanding of citizens' opinions about the future of agriculture and rural areas in the European Union. In particular, we assessed rural-urban differences and examined disparities across countries, paying attention to the importance of rural development in the planned expenditure under CAP 2023-2027. The results showed that the perceived importance is higher for respondents living in rural areas and that there are disparities across countries. From a policy perspective, targeted efforts should be made in each country to address the specific challenges each country faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has a historical deficit of plant protein and is heavily reliant on imports to sustain domestic livestock production. Using an economic model of global agricultural markets, this article investigates three policy drivers that could have an influence on the increased production of protein-rich crops in the EU, namely coupled payments for protein-rich crops, investment in research and development leading to higher yields, and phasing out of imported high indirect land-use change risk biofuel feedstocks. Results indicate that a one per cent annual increase in yields over the medium-term has a much larger effect on EU domestic protein production than additional coupled payments of EUR 75 per ha. Moreover, phasing out palm-based biodiesel only has a small impact on protein self-sufficiency. A significant unknown is how costly it will be to increase the yields on protein crops grown in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the paper is to highlight the impact of agricultural performance on working poverty in the EU countries, in the 2008-2013 period, for identifying some measures that need to be taken to increase the agricultural performance so that the in-work poverty reduces. The comparative analysis shows that agricultural performance, according to the agricultural indicators analysed and the phenomenon of working poverty vary significantly across the EU countries. The correlation and regression analysis results suggest that the high level of employment in agriculture in some EU countries can be mainly explained by the small scale agriculture, a high share of subsistence holdings and a low agricultural labour productivity. The results of the multiple regression analysis highlight that working poverty at the EU level is influenced positively by the employment in agriculture, and is influenced negatively by the economic size farm and land productivity. Moreover, the results show large cross-country differences in terms of agricultural performance-working poverty link, fact which emphasizes the need to take specific actions to improve efficiency of the EU agricultural sector for reducing the working poverty. The findings of the study can be useful for the policymakers to formulate policies for a decent and productive employment within a sustainable development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local Action Groups (LAG) as actors in the EU rural development policy reflect the endogenous paradigm. Th ey utilize the cooperation of their members and social networks to achieve the goals defined in their strategies developed upon the EU regulations on rural development. Th e paper demonstrates how the printed Czech media reflect the activities of LAGs. Such research gives a background to answer the question if the references to LAGs in the Czech Republic highlight the paradigmatic shift from the material factors towards the endogenous or hybrid resources embedded in using the intangible factors for development. Th e research consists in the quantitative content analysis of 498 articles about Czech local action groups. Th e analysis indicates that paradigmatic shift is only at the beginning. LAGs activities are still reported to be embedded in using the material factors (exogenous approach) instead of reporting and accounting the endogenous resources composed of both material and non-material factors of rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The whole concept of the biogas industry is an ongoing issue particularly because of its differences from the original purpose and the criticism about causing too many externalities. Its high costs and low efficiency compared to the traditional cheaper sources belong to the main problems. This issue is serious especially currently - at the times of a slow economic growth when a switch to renewable energy sources means yet another harm to the competitiveness of the EU producers as it increases their production costs. Another weak point is that the silage maize as the most common input material for the anaerobic digestion leads to the displacement of the food crops production and it is considered to be also a contributor to the food price increase. Biogas plants also compete for input with the livestock production that ends up in the biogas plants instead of e.g. feeding cows. The aim of the paper is to investigate the long-run relationship between the biogas industry and the agricultural sector in Germany - a leader in the technology with the most developed biogas sector among the European Union member states. The econometric analysis based on the Vector Correction Model confirms the stated assumptions and concludes that the production of biogas via the anaerobic digestion has a significant impact on agriculture in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture is one of the main contributors to carbon emissions and is also significantly affected by changing climate. This article investigates the impacts of agricultural support on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from agriculture in the European Union. Panel regression models were used to examine the influence of subsidies in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on reducing GHGs from agriculture. First, estimates show that direct agricultural subsidies encouraged agricultural-related carbon emissions. Second, the study concludes that the expansion of organic agriculture and the rural development expenditures contributed to emissions reduction in the member states. Finally, the CAP Health Check reform decreased while the Ciolos reform stimulated GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nutritional values of different foodstuffs have been examined in various studies on a number of occasions. However, so far, little attention has been paid to the legal aspects of introducing edible insects in the European Union. Yet, the rearing of this mini-livestock for food and feed has a potential of developing into a new agricultural sector, which is sustainable, unlike the breeding of the traditional livestock. The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal background of authorizing edible insects in the European Union, taking into account the environmental impacts thereof. At present, the Member States are free to regulate this field, however, only until the transitional period established by the European Union (EU) rules has expired, since the EU wide regulation for authorizing edible insects is to be introduced as of 1st January 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is the prediction of financial distress (default of payment or insolvency) of 250 agriculture business companies in the EU from which 62 companies defaulted in 2014 with respect to lag of the used attributes. From many types of classification models, there was chosen the Logistic regression, the Support vector machines method with the RBF ANOVA kernel, the Decision Trees and the Adaptive Boosting based on the decision trees to acquire the best results. From the results, it is obvious that with the increasing distance to the bankruptcy, there decreases the average accuracy of the financial distress prediction and there is a greater difference between the active and distressed companies in terms of liquidity, rentability and debt ratios. The Decision trees and Adaptive Boosting offer a better accuracy for the distress prediction than the SVM and logit methods, what is comparable to the previous studies. From the total of 15 accounting variables, there were constructed classification trees by the Decision Trees with the inner feature selection method for the better visualization, what reduces the full data set only to 1 or 2 attributes: ROA and Long-term Debt to Total Assets Ratio in 2011, ROA and Current Ratio in 2012, ROA in 2013 for the discrimination of the distressed companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland in relation to selected EU countries. The competitive advantage of dairy farms was evaluated and compared based on remuneration for family labour. Two variants of the above indicator were calculated: (1) Remuneration for family labour (FL1) as the relationship between farm net income and the farmer's unpaid labour input, and (2) Remuneration for family labour (FL2) as the relationship between farm net income minus the opportunity costs of own land and capital to the farmer's unpaid labour input. The calculations were performed based on EU FADN (European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network) data for an average dairy farm in 2005, 2010 and 2016. The study revealed the highest average remuneration for family labour (FL1) in Irish and German dairy farms. The value of the second indicator (FL2) was also highest in Germany, followed by France. The analysis produced interesting results regarding dairy farms in Denmark and the Netherlands which were characterised by the highest scale of production in the evaluated period (high net value added), but very low farm incomes and remuneration for family labour. The study revealed that Polish dairy farms were characterised by average competitiveness relative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competitiveness is one of the key concepts in economic sciences, andit is defined as the ability of businesses to compete in the market. The aim of this study was to assess the competitiveness of dairy products in Poland. The competitiveness was evaluated in a macroeconomic approach by analysing the exports, imports, and the trade balance. The results were processed and presented with the use of tabular, graphic, and descriptive methods. After Poland joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, one of the key goals was to improve the quality, storage, and applicability of dairy products, and to promote trade in milk and dairy products. The Polish dairy industry reported a positive balance in the foreign trade of milk and dairy products, which contributed to positive values in the competitiveness indicators of dairy products. The values of the export specialisation index (SI), export revealed comparative advantage (XRCA), relative import penetration index (MRCA), foreign trade coverage ratio (CRK), and the Grubel-Lloyd intra-industry trade index (IITk) were positive, which attests to the competitiveness of Polish dairy products. We proved that the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the competitiveness of dairy enterprises in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The war in Ukraine has shown that the worldwide food security can be easily shaken. This article focuses on an evaluation of European Union (EU) wheat producers on the world market. Would EU producers maintain their competitive position without direct payments? What changes need to be introduced to improve the position of EU producers on the world market? To answer these questions, a data envelopment analysis has been applied. It is indicated that the competitive position of EU wheat producers is still strongly dependent on direct payments and that mechanisation costs are a key area for improved efficiency in wheat production in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of sludge in agriculture within the European Union (EU) is currently regulated only by the limits of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) listed in Council Directive 86/278/EEC. This document is now more than 30 years old. Several European countries have introduced more stringent requirements in comparison with the directive, and have adopted limits for concentrations of other heavy metals, synthetic organic compounds and microbial contamination. The paper provides an overview of the current limits of these substances in sewage sludge and concentration limits of heavy metals in soil intended for sludge application, together with applicable laws and regulations in European Union countries. There is a need to update these regulations taking into account the current risks associated with the application of sludge to agricultural land, with the possibility of using ecotoxicological tests to assess the risks. A wide range of technologies for sewage sludge processing is used in EU countries. The predominant choice is a direct application in agriculture followed by composting. The use of sewage sludge in agriculture in 2014 and 2015 in 13 EU countries that provided data amounted to 22.6% (2014) and 22.1% (2015) of produced sludge and 23.3% (2014) and 23.1% (2015) of sludge disposed. It is also highly variable within EU countries ranging between zero (Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia) and 80% (Ireland). Over 50% of sewage sludge is used in agriculture in Bulgaria according to 2015 data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measures changes in total factor productivity of agriculture for 25 European Union (EU) member states in 2004-2016 using the Färe-Primont index. It also attempts to answer the question whether in the analysed period the levels of total factor productivity in this sector were convergent between member states. To this end, panel unit root tests were used. The study indicates that in new EU member states the level of total factor productivity (TFP) was relatively lower than in most EU-15 states. It was also found that convergence occurred in agricultural productivity almost in all EU member states (except Belgium and the United Kingdom). The research shows that in new EU member states the process of making up differences in the productivity of agriculture was stronger than in old EU member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unstable conditions in the milk market in the Czech Republic (CR) and in the European Union (EU), mainly due to volatility of milk prices, are increasing pressure on dairy farmers to maximise production at the lowest possible production costs. Break-even point (BEP) analysis is a useful tool in dairy herd management for determining minimum requirements for profitability. BEP values for milk yield and milk price were calculated based on data obtained from 95 dairy farms in the CR. BEP values were estimated also for another eight EU countries based upon production and cost data from the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). With the milk price ranging from EUR 28 to EUR 38 per 100 L and while excluding subsidies, zero profitability would be achieved on Czech dairy farms with milk yields ranging from 6 706 L to 13 151 L per cow and from 7 450 L to 14 088 L per cow in Czech Fleckvieh (C) and Holstein (H) herds, respectively. In order to achieve 5% profitability, the milk yield would need to increase by 21%. Considerable variability exists among EU countries in estimated BEP values depending upon average milk yields, input prices, and milk prices in different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union pays a primary attention to the development of neighbouring relations; it means the relations with countries in the immediate vicinity of its external borders. This is done for the sake of prosperity, stability and the spread of democratic values in the world. In this sense, a kind of the privileged region have always created the states of the Southern and Eastern or eventually Northern Mediterranean with which the European Economic Community began to develop cooperation immediately after its formation. Then since the mid-1990s, the EU set out a goal to create a Euro- Mediterranean free trade area and thus to move closer to the interlacing of the two entities in the form of integration. The outline of the process of development of Euro-Mediterranean relationships (including the changes of bilateral approaches and the conditioning factors) is the objective of this article. It is divided into three sections, which cover different stages of the development of these relationships over time and escalate in terms of two-way approaches to a new quality of cooperation (including the three stated research questions). The result of these relationships could become a Euro-Mediterranean Alliance that is outlined as a differentiated form of multilateralism in the conclusions of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes an attempt to gain insight into the relationship between cash and futures markets for US lean hogs and EU live pigs, and the opportunity of arbitrage hedging. In doing so, the authors use newer methods of threshold cointegration analysis for time series from 1999 until 2008. Besides the existence of a long-run equilibrium, asymmetric price adjustments can be demonstrated. This is especially the case for the EU live pigs, where price variations of the basis are higher and exhibit lower standard deviation. The results also perfectly show that cash prices follow the futures market more than the other way round. Furthermore, a grid search has revealed that the residual-based threshold in either market is near zero and therefore coherent with economic interpretation. Thus, at least theoretically, arbitrageurs in those markets are able to exploit the price diff erences between the two markets and reap no-risk monetary benefit. Hence, the results are in line with the statement that "speculating the basis" generates a better return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the agro-food exports variety from twelve central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) to the European Union (EU) during the years 1995-2007. The panel regression models explain the agro-food exports by its previous year, income in the importing EU countries, and measure of agro-food export product variety, while the real exchange rate appreciation of the CEEC currencies has negatively influenced agro-food exports. The EU enlargement with the reduction in agricultural protection and the borderless single market has induced agro-food export increases in primary agricultural produce and intermediate food-processed products, but less in higher value-added food-processed differentiated products. The impact of increased number of CEECs agro-food product varieties on agro-food export to the EU is positive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the agri-food export dynamics in the New Member States and the Old Member States of the European Union during the enlargement process. The analysis relies on two different approaches based on the similarity and the sophistication indices of exported goods using a disaggregation at 95 items. The analysis shows that different and somehow divergent paths are in place. On the one side, the Czech Republic and Poland are involved in a quality catching up process and increase their competitiveness. On the other side, Bulgaria and Romania seem to be still trapped in the low-quality segment of the agri-food market with a decreasing competitiveness performance in the richest segment of the European market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the place of Slovak agriculture in the European Union and with the implementation of the strategy of the competitiveness growth of Slovak agrarian producers. The paper compares the disparities in the utilisation of production factors with the selected EU countries, identifies the causes of unfavourable position of Slovakia's agriculture and also describes some impacts of crisis and disparities in utilising production factors in businesses operating under production conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Czech Republic, the afforestation of agricultural land has been supported by providing subsidies from the government and the European Union. Afforestation of less-productive agricultural land provides many benefits including carbon sequestration, soil erosion control, biodiversity, water retention, cooling, social benefits, decreasing noise and light pollution, increasing air quality, wind speed reduction, oxygen production, wood production and non-wood products. In some aspects, it is possible to produce wood of the same quality on former agricultural land compared to permanent forest land. In this study, we attempted to find out the course of temperatures and volumetric water content as well as some other physical soil properties (at depths of 20, 40 and 60 cm) 9 years after the afforestation of agricultural land (warm, mild dry region of the Czech Republic) with a mixture of broadleaved tree species (Quercus robur L., Quercus rubra L. and Acer platanoides L.) or monospecific Pinus sylvestris L. stand; the study was performed in the period from April to the beginning of November 2020. Concerning the studied physical soil properties, the value of bulk density was higher (and total porosity lower) at a depth of 20 cm in Pinus sylvestris L. compared with agricultural land or the mixture of broadleaves; the water stability of soil aggregates was higher after the afforestation with the mixture of broadleaves. The temperature was lower in the soil of afforested plots (at all studied depths) compared to the agriculturally used land. Differences in rainfall interception, transpiration, soil (and forest floor) properties and other factors could influence the obtained values of water content in the soil of the studied plots. The average volumetric water contents were the highest in the plots with Scots pine (depth of 20 cm) and broadleaves (depth of 40 cm), and on the control plot (depth of 60 cm). The volumetric water content at a soil depth of 20 cm was not significantly (P > 0.05) different when the plot with Scots pine and agriculturally used land were compared. In all other cases and depths, the differences between plots were significant (P < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural structures are quite heterogeneous across the European Union (EU), and it is likely that the underlying technology also differs across regions. In this article, we claim that the heterogeneity of agriculture across the EU affects the process of income creation (i.e. the relative importance of the factors of farm income differ for different agricultural models). A panel of farms representative for 125 regions reporting to the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) during the period from 2007 to 2018 is used. In this article, those regions are grouped into three clusters. A system generalised method of moments (GMM) panel estimator is applied to each cluster. The results showed that total factor productivity (TFP), relative prices and agricultural subsidies make different contributions to farm net value added (FNVA). In particular, the income growth of farms in regions dominated by large farms seems to react more to marginal changes of the explanatory variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents changes in the prices of milk and other dairy products in the European Union (EU). First, the descriptive statistics of the prices of milk and dairy products are presented, and then correlation and regression analyses were conducted to measure the relationships between the prices. We used the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model to measure the stationarity and changes in dairy product prices in the EU. At the EU level, we checked the changes in prices of butter, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, Emmental and whey powder. Our analysis confirmed that the butter, skim milk powder, whole milk powder, Cheddar, Edam and Gouda processes depend on previous values. The biggest price changes were observed in whey powder (34.12%), butter (24.46%) and skim milk powder (21.78%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses an extended gravity model to examine the determinants, efficiency and potential of agri--food exports from Nigeria to the EU for the 1995-2019 period. It uses a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to estimate the extended gravity model. The results show that the economic size (GDP) of Nigeria and the EU countries, as well as bilateral distance, positively determine agri-food exports from Nigeria to the EU. Also, the results show that Nigeria's agri-food exports to the EU are negatively determined by the income (per capita GDP) of Nigeria and its EU trading countries, bilateral exchange rate and EU new member states (NMS). The results further show that Nigeria scores relatively low in terms of the efficiency of its agri-food exports to the EU countries. On a final note, the study shows that Nigeria's agri-food exports with the EU have a relatively large potential that has not been exploited. We document policy recommendations in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grapevine is a worldwide crop and it is also subject to global trade in wine, berries and grape vine plants. Various countries, including the countries of the European Union, emphasize the role of product origin designation and suitable methods are sought, able to capture distinct origins. One of the biological matrices that can theoretically be driven by individual vineyards' conditions represents DNA methylation. Despite this interesting hypothesis, there is a lack of respective information. The aim of this work is to examine whether DNA methylation can be used to relate a sample to a given vineyard and to access a relationship between a DNA methylation pattern and different geographical origin of analysed samples. For this purpose, DNA methylation landscapes of samples from completely different climatic conditions presented by the Czech Republic (Central Europe) and Armenia (Southern Caucasus) were compared. Results of the Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism method confirm uniqueness of DNA methylation landscape for individual vineyards. Factually, DNA methylation diversity within vineyards of Merlot and Pinot Noir cultivars represent only 16% and 14% of the overall diversity registered for individual cultivars. On the contrary, different geographical location of the Czech and Armenian vineyards was identified as the strongest factor affecting diversity in DNA methylation landscapes (79.9% and 70.7% for Merlot and Pinot Noir plants, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Spain, the leader in pesticide sales in the European Union, a high-tech and innovative company provides services to the wine industry to optimise phytosanitary work, reduce crop losses and lower production costs. Although the nature of its business encourages the transition to a sustainable agri-food system, it also involves risks associated with uncertainty. The objective of this article was to perform the valuation of the company through the real options approach, including an expansion option, analysing whether this company will be able to increase the value of its project by expanding its activity to a larger number of vineyards. Results showed that the application of the real options approach projected a higher result than the traditional net present value method, so that if the company makes additional investments in its precision agriculture project, these will increase the value by a 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Milk and dairy products help meet the nutritional needs of the population. The main goal of this research was to analyse price volatility of milk and dairy products in Poland after accession to the European Union (EU). Price is the main economic influencer. We used 161 monthly observations from 01. 2007 to 05. 2020 to analyse the price changes. To measure the volatility, we have used Augmented Dickey-Fuller test (ADF test), Autoregressive-Moving-Average model (ARMA model), and Granger test. Our research confirmed high volatility of milk and dairy products prices. The ARMA model confirmed that the dairy product prices are stationary. Milk, butter and Gouda cheese are also useful for forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the objectives of the European Union concerning the climate changes, Member States should take all the necessary measures in order to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of this study is to identify the causality relations between greenhouse gases emissions, added value from agriculture, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth based on a panel consisting of 11 states from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) in the period between 2000 and 2017. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method was used to estimate the long-term relationships among the variables. Also a Granger causality test based on the ARDL - Error Correction Model (ECM) and a Pairwise Granger causality test were used to identify the causality relationship and to detect the direction of causality among the variables. The results obtained reveal, in the long term, two bidirectional relationships between agriculture and economic growth and two unidirectional relationships from agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy. In the short term, four unidirectional relationships were found from agriculture to all the variables in the model and one unidirectional relationship from renewable energy to greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Article concerns economic and energy efficiency of agriculture in European Union countries. The study period concerned 2016. For analysis and presentation of materials, descriptive, tabular and graphic methods and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method - CCR (Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes) model focused on input-oriented minimisation were used. An assessment of the socio-economic development of the EU countries was made using the following measures: Human Development Index (HDI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (USD per inhabitant). Modern agriculture depends on industrial energy sources and as the socio-economic development changes into more and more energy-intensive production technologies. After presenting the introduction and review of the literature, the economic and energy efficiency of agriculture in the EU countries in 2016 was examined, which was at a high level - the DEA reached 0.67. Then, the correlation between the socio-economic development of countries and their economic and energy efficiency was analysed. It was also found that along with socio-economic development in the EU countries, the economic and energy efficiency of agriculture is increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]