The changes in the ownership structure were to be implemented by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury, which, under the Act of Law of 11 April 2003 on the structuring of agrarian system (i.e. The Journal of Laws of 2012, item 803, as amended), on 16 July 2003 became the Agricultural Property Agency with eleven local branch offices.

Agricultural activities and their complex effects on nature conservation, and the services that ecosystems deliver to humans are controversial. We present an overview of land abandonment, its driving forces and its consequences for landscape, biodiversity and humans. A descriptive metaanalysis of independently published studies highlighted the fact that the abandonment of agricultural land is a phenomenon mostly driven by socio-economic factors such as immigration into areas where new economic opportunities are offered to rural people.

One of the tools for management of balanced development of rural areas is spatial planning – a kind of activity regarding to organization of use and protection of land at the national, regional and local level. The issues of conservation and restoration of natural resources in rural areas are extremely relevant for Ukraine. Main environmental problems in rural areas are: degradation of agricultural land, loss of biodiversity and pollution of land, overground and underground water. In recent years a new environmental problem has emerged − desertification.

The research studies the issue of ecological stability of rural territories that is the most important component of the national environmental policy of Ukraine. A special attention is paid to degradation of arable lands as the main ecological problem of land management. On the example of Lviv region, the authors calculated the index of ecological nonconformity of current use of arable lands, proving a considerable excess of permissible ploughing of lands in the region.

In the recent years the issue of optimal size of the utilised agricultural area and its accessibility in particular regions has gained increased importance. Total area, types and conditions of the utilised agricultural area are essential to shaping and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy. This research comprises investigation of the single area payment and the area payments done in scope of the Rural Development Programme for the time frame of 2007 – 2011.

The aim of this research is to evaluate the spatial differences of the agricultural economy of Latvia during the First Republic by using spatial autocorrelation calculations. Morans’s I coefficient of spatial autocorrelation is used to describe the spatial relations of the analyzed indicators. The obtained results show that Moran’s I for more than half of the obtained parameters is greater than 0.5, which indicates a rather high spatial autocorrelation. It was observed that variations of the spatial autocorrelation values can be explained by what affects these parameters.

Poplars and willows provide society with ecosystem services. These include direct economic benefits such as wood, fibre, fuelwood and other forest products. They also include environmental benefits improving the lives of people, such as through rehabilitation of degraded land, restoration of forest landscapes and mitigation of climate change. All of these services support rural livelihoods, enhance food security, alleviate poverty and contribute to sustainable land use and rural development, particularly in developing countries.

For over a decade, the globalisation of environmental, economic and social issues has induced rapid modification in agriculture and land. These changes raise the question of future extensive livestock systems in regards to the worldwide challenge to double livestock production by 2050 in ways which are safe for the environment. In order to better understand and follow modification processes, a comparative study of livestock systems and land dynamics has been carried out on seven case studies on three continents through the use of a common grid.

This study attempts to identify the main obstacles to progress and the developments possible. It would therefore be wrong to consider it as a first agricultural plan for Africa, similar to the one called for recently by the Ghanaian Ministry of Agriculture.

This paper examines the role of the International Financial institutions in the formulation of African macro-economic policies with particular reference to efforts aimed at adjusting the agricultural sectors of African economies. The paper attempts to

assess the impact of Structural Adjustment Programs(SAP)on African agriculture and through an examination of the application of the programs in three African countries - Malawi,Tanzania and Zambia.

This paper is a draft report on the Ad Hoc Committee on the Draft Medium Term Plan.

L'objectif du Project entreprise par 1GN et ses partenaires est ainsi de produire mettre à jour régulièrement un inventaire du territoire agricole de l’Egypte dans le but d’améliorer sa gestion et de la, le potentiel agricole de nations et dans un cadre plus général de favoriser le développement agricole.