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Study of agriculture enjoys less popularity over time in most of the developed countries, including Canada and the Czech Republic. Analysis in this paper provides interesting findings about activities of agricultural universities to increase enrollment into their programs. While the study is focused on Canada, it is possible to draw implications also for the Czech Republic as many of the characteristics pertaining to the education and agricultural sectors are similar. Enrollment into educational programs in agriculture in North America has been steadily declining in the last several decades. While the overall share of agriculture on national gross domestic product has also been falling, the need for qualified people in agriculture is still eminent as the shift to sustainable agriculture appears to be one of the key priorities of governments in the US and Canada. One of the ways how to facilitate interest of prospective students to study agriculture is to diversify the programs through offering of more major options. It is important to study the motivation and other stimuli for the choice of major in order to adapt the educational programs and attract more students. In the paper, factors influencing the choice of major are studied by analyzing survey data from the only agricultural college in Atlantic Canada. The results show significant differences in the socio-economic background among the prospective students based on the choice of major. For example, students interested in social sciences much more appraise more choices of major than students in biophysical fields. Based on the findings from the analysis, several recommendations are made. It is suggested, for example, that for students interested in biophysical sciences, sport plays an important role and thus, appropriate promotional campaign about recreation and sport facilities of a post-secondary agricultural educational institutions should be conducted. Analysis in this paper may serve many educational institutions in agriculture as a guide how to deal with existing or potential decline in enrollment by diversifying their major portfolio using appropriate promotional campaigns.

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. 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 production of foodstuffs for an ever-increasing population is the basic, irreducible and unalienable function of agriculture. It involves environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. This is what makes it so important to examine the levels of environmental efficiency of agriculture. As countries differ in their emission levels, it is reasonable to look for what determines them. Hence, the purpose of this study was to identify the changes in the environmental efficiency of agriculture in Visegrád Group countries and worldwide in 1961–2020. These countries share a similar economic history and demonstrate comparable environmental and geographic conditions, making it possible to pinpoint the factors responsible for how the parameters covered by the study change over time. The research used data from the FAOSTAT database. Environmental efficiency of agriculture was defined as the relationship between production volumes in kilocalories and emissions. Initially, this parameter deteriorated in the Visegrád countries, but since the late 1970s it has improved, first linked to the crisis of the socialist economy and its collapse (including a drastic decline in livestock production) and then to the implementation of CAP instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic farming takes on particular importance in the context of implementing the sustainable development concept as it combines environmentally safe farming methods with (as a general assumption) producing pollution-free food. Hence, environmental conditions might play a role in determining the development pace of that type of farming. The key objective of this paper is therefore to identify the scope and direction of multidimensional relationships between the development level of organic farming and environmental conditions. This was performed with the canonical analysis. The research process included the structuring of the authors' own synthetic metrics used in assessing the condition of the environment and the development level of organic farming. The study covered European Union countries and all 380 Polish districts (Poland is one of the very few Union members where organic farming development is currently inconsistent with the expected trends adopted under the Common Agricultural Policy). It follows from the analyses that when the variables relating to environmental conditions are known, they can explain only less than 10% of variance in the set of variables used in describing the development level of Polish organic farming. In turn, the analysis at Union level suggests that a positive—but not stronger than moderate—correlation exists between the two phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. This review provides a comprehensive evaluation of the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on sugar production, efficiency, and competitiveness in African countries, based on empirical evidence from multiple studies. Materials and methods. Drawing from peer-reviewed journal studies, databases, and unconventional sources, the review focuses on the nexus between FDI and its impact on the sugar industries of African countries. Results and discussion. The study highlights the historical significance of FDI in bolstering sugar production and competitiveness across Southern and Northern African regions. Empirical evidence suggests that FDI has the potential to drive sustainable investment, foster inclusive growth, and enhance competitiveness within Africa's sugar production value chain. The key mechanisms through which FDI boosts sugar production and export competitiveness in certain African nations, as revealed in surveyed literature, include expanding cultivated sugarcane areas and modernizing milling infrastructure through significant investments in property, plant, and equipment. This expansion is propelled by intraregional investors for Southern African countries and investors from the Middle East in the case of North African countries. However, East and West African countries continue to face challenges, including inadequate investment flows and heavy state intervention, which have inhibited efficiency in both sugarcane production and processing. Despite these insights, there is limited conclusive evidence to determine whether FDI directly improves productivity, yields, and agricultural intensification in African countries. Current literature lacks methodological rigor to quantitatively measure and assess the extent to which FDI impacts sugar production, exports, efficiency, and competitiveness of African sugar industries. Conclusion. African governments need to balance fostering investor-friendly environments with ensuring effective governance, by strengthening institutional frameworks and promoting synergies for sustainable industry growth and competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes sugar industry in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from a historical and contemporary perspective (between 1961 and 2020). SSA accounts for about 77% and 74% of sugarcane and raw sugar production in Africa, respectively, and only 5 % of total world sugarcane production. Using a descriptive approach, it can be concluded that raw sugar and sugarcane production is dominated by the Eastern and Southern African regions, which contribute 86–90% of total SSA production. Despite the Eastern and Southern regions being the main producers, their production has been affected by irregular periods of drought. Sugarcane yields in SSA countries are relatively low, averaging 56 tonnes against a benchmark of 70–100 tonnes per hectare for the top 12 countries. It is clear that the increase in raw sugar and sugarcane production over the years has been “driven” by an expansion of the amount of cultivated land in favor of sugarcane, which is not sustainable in the context of long-term low productivity/efficiency of own production. The low level of yields per hectare has been reducing the competitiveness of SSA countries on the world market for a long time. The key to increasing the competitiveness of SSA countries is precisely the elimination of problems associated with the process of growing and subsequent processing of sugar cane and sugar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research on trade rebalancing in agri-food supply chains has gained prominence due to trade sanctions, supply chain disruptions, and vulnerabilities exposed by pandemics and conflicts. This study focuses on the recalibration of agri-food trade dynamics, using the 2014 Russian import ban as a case study. The ban significantly altered the structure of agri-food export destinations for affected countries, particularly those sharing a border with Russia (e.g., Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Employing a cross-section regression model and structural break tests, we assess the trade rebalancing process. Our findings reveal short-term trade rebalancing effects, primarily observed in product groups not traditionally considered main trade specializations. There is evidence that significant part of the lost trade was redirected to EU28 or EAEU countries and end up in the common trade areas of these countries. Furthermore, we argue that the Russian import ban initiated a long-term structural shift in export patterns for non-traditionally traded banned products, while rebalancing for traditionally traded products was significantly quicker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. 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.)

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. 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.)

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. 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.)

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. 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.)

Our paper focuses on assessing the role of state funding in supporting wind energy projects with a focus on economic efficiency and risk assessment. In particular, we analyze the new program aimed at supporting Russian renewable energy (RE) projects envisaged for the period from 2024–2035 that involves a reduction in investments in such projects and the introduction of large fines for non-compliance with regulatory requirements for localization and export. These strict rules imposed by the regulatory authorities, as well as the withdrawal by foreign manufacturers of equipment for renewable energy from the domestic energy market, put into doubt the economic feasibility of the participation of sector players in state-supported programs. Our paper assesses the economic justification for the practicality of the Russian energy market to implement renewable energy projects under the influence of negative environmental factors and the reduction of state support programs. We employ a case study of wind energy projects carried out in 2018–2020 as a part of the first sector support program. Our methodology is based on the calculations of the classical indicators of economic efficiency of projects (NPV, IRR, and DPP). Our own approach reveals that these indicators are supplemented by taking into account the cost of specific political, environmental, and economic risks of wind energy projects. Our results reveal that, at the moment, Russian wind energy projects in various scenarios retain a sufficient margin of financial strength and are able to withstand a reduction in the amount of financial support from the state. Our findings allow the formulation of some practical recommendations for reducing the share of governmental support for wind energy projects on the local energy market as a measure of cutting costs and increasing overall economic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article evaluates Czech and Slovak sugar companies in the process of transformation and abolition of quotas on the European sugar market. The assessment considers the payment behaviour, financial health and condition. Sugar companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia had a low probability of bankruptcy before the beginning of 2019 and subsequently in 2020. They have maintained good payment behaviour towards their customers; they were financially stable entities. A deterioration in the sector’ valuation and significant changes in the sugar market may have a negative impact. The likelihood of maintaining sugar production at current levels and maintaining financial health, solvency and payment discipline in the period ahead remains high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]