Cultivated Productive Area

According to the State Land Service, in Latvia agricultural land constitutes 36 percent or 2,32 million hectares of all land uses (VZD 2016). In 2017, 73 percent or 1,68 million hectares of agricultural land was supported by aid payments. In thirteen municipalities of the Riga metropolitan area, agricultural land constitutes 34545 hectares of total land uses. 

There are regional differences in agriculture due to differences in the landscape across Latvia. Middle regions of Latvia such as Zemgale are flat and well suited for intensive, cereal agriculture. Landscape in the North region of Vidzeme is wavy and Eastern Region of Latgale has many lakes hence agricultural land in these regions  has natural limits and plot sizes are small.  The largest share of agricultural land is located in the Zemgale region in the middle of Latvia, also the most fertile soils are located here. Cereals and rape is most profitable to grow in Zemgale region, the least in Vidzeme and Latgale regions due to small plot sizes.  Biological farming is prevailing in the regions with small plot sizes.

Prevailing types of agriculture in Latvia are cereals and dairy farming. Cereals and rape plantations constitute 672,000 hectares of land and crop yeld is three million tones per year. Thirty percent of all sown cereals are located in the Zemgale region and highest crop yields are gained there (thirty five percent of all) , whereas only eighteen percent of cereal crops are located in Latgale and lowest crop yields are gained there. Whereas dairy farming prevails in Latgale.  

Agricultural land in some municipalities of Riga metropolitan region have been transformed into the land for construction and is actively being built up. Riga has a limited amount of land available for the construction of detached houses hence there is a demand to build detached houses. 

Geographical facts (amount and difference in Kitchen gardens in the Metropolitan Area of Riga and in the country side, some facts) We could also add the vasarnicas zones around Riga and state that a certain amount of food is produced there as well, shoud be researched more)

Geological facts (are they situated on good valuable land?)

Historical use-current use (change in use and importance)

Amount of food that you can produce on a kitchen garden

Gardening as therapie (darzaterapija.lv)

Future perspective (maybe some information from the interview we did)

In the past and currently schools have beside their playground created small growing beds. The amount they grow is usually minute, and the purpose is educational rather than nutritional, but this educates group of the society that has a knowledge and takes care of the food in the future society. In the surrounding of Riga we have … schools with approximately amount of … m2 of garden.