Der Wandel des ländlichen Raumes in Lettland

Abstract

Between the wars, Latvia had a well developed agricultural sector and was an important exporter of agricultural products. At the moment, the agricultural sector in Latvia is in a difficult position. The large collective farms, which characterised agriculture for 50 years, are being disbanded in the transition from planned to market economy. The livestock has been reduced considerably and the areas used for agriculture have been made smaller. The farmers are in a difficult financial position, left without cheap loans to buy grain, fertilisers or machinery. This obstructs the competitiveness of the Latvian agriculture. It is above all the rural regions, far from the cities, which suffer under the lack of employment outside of agriculture. This leads to a high level of migration among young people in these regions. Using the example of the Vecpiebalga village, this study focuses on the current level of privatisation of land and property and how the community is attempting to secure its future development.