Ecological farming in Lithuania

Straipsnyje nagrinėjama ekologinio ūkininkavimo plėtra Lietuvoje. Pirmas ekologines gamybos ūkis įsisteigi 1992 m. Nuo 1992 iki 2006 metų ekologinis ūkininkavimas Lietuvoje labai išsiplėtė. Ūkių skaičius padidėjo iki 2348, kur buvo ūkininkaujama 102120 ha plote. Lietuvoje ekologinis ūkininkavimas yra viena iš prioritetinių žemes ūkio šakų.When analysing situation of ecological farming system in Lithuania, it was established that the area of certified ecological production amounted to 102120 hectares - approximately 3.97% of all declared agricultural land area for which direct subsidies are paid. Compared to 2005 certified farming area increased by 68 %. Average size of an ecological farm is 41 hectare. Most farms in Lithuania have the area of 30 hectares. It makes 68 % of total farms engage in ecological production. Considerable farming activities are exercised on the farms which have the area of 31-50 and 51-100 hectares. It makes 12 and 10 % of total farms engaging in ecological production. In 2006 the land under grain increased even up to 69.4 % in the crop structure, whereas perennial grasses were in the second place - 22.3%. Potato areas totalled only 0.5 %, whereas vegetable areas only 0.1 %. The crop structure of ecological farms does not fully meet the requirements of ecological farming. It does not allow implementing the most suitable crop rotations (shift of crops) in these farms, which may have negative impact on soil fertility sustentation and good agrarian status of crops. Ecologically grown spiked cereals and legume crops have the following structure: 69 % - spiked cereals, 17 % - legume crops, 11 % - mixture of spiked cereals and legumes and 3 % - other cereals. Predominant crops are buckwheat, barley, wheat, and rye. The kind of cops grown on a farm depends on the soil prevailing on that particular farm. The farmers who have rich soils usually grow wheat crops, whereas less rich soils accommodate rye crops