Abstract—Agricultural land is critically important, but
limited resource for production of agricultural goods. Therefore,
it is essential to exploit agricultural land efficiently to provide
the planet’s growing population with food. We evaluated how
efficient is utilization of the agricultural land in a northern
country called Latvia. Based on statistical data at micro level,
we evaluated inefficiently exploited areas that potentially might
be available for the production of agricultural products. It is
discovered that in 2013 as much as 37% (or 874.4 thousand
hectares) of utilized agricultural area were not efficiently
exploited in the country. The reasons for ineffective use are
described and production potential is evaluated.
Index Terms—Agricultural land utilization, land availability,
efficiency.
I. Pilvere is with the Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of
Economics and Social Sciences, Latvia (e-mail: ipilvere@gmail.com).
A. Nipers is with the Latvia University of Agriculture, Institute of
Economics and Business in Riga, Latvia.
I. Upite is with the Latvia University of Agriculture, Faculty of
Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Business and Management,
Latvia.
[PDF]
Cite:I. Pilvere, A. Nipers, and I. Upite, "Agricultural Land Utilization Efficiency: The Case of
Latvia," International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance vol.5, no.1, pp. 65-71, 2014.