Baltic Studies Centre (BSC) is currently participating in the project AE-Pro-Vision: Creating an Action Plan for an Agroecological Baltic Sea Region Vision, which aims to lay the foundations for an agroecological transformation of the food system in the Baltic Sea Region. The project brings together partners from five countries – Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and Finland – and its main emphasis is on preparing for the development of the region's agroecology vision rather than on the implementation of extensive practical activities. It is a kind of pilot project that paves the way for a larger-scale initiative. "This seems to be an atypical format of what we BSC are used to because of its scale. There is a small, compact consortium, more individuals than organizations; five countries, but for the most part each of them is represented by one person. I call this project more of an initiative, and its idea is to encourage the formation of a common vision of an agroecological Baltic Sea region," explains Anda Ādamsone-Fiskoviča, BSC's Senior researcher. For his part, Emīls Ķīlis, a Senior researcher at BSC, emphasizes the scope of the project: "It's really more like a backdrop. The budget is much smaller than for a three-year project and is intended to set the idea in motion. We conduct expert interviews to understand, among other things, how agroecology is perceived as a concept in different countries."
BSC's role in the project
Unlike other large international projects, AE-Pro-Vision does not have a strictly segregated role. Most of the activities are carried out in cooperation with all partners, but the BSC is more actively involved in individual tasks. "We have helped develop the interview guidelines and conceptual framework, as well as the analysis of the data obtained. Another activity of the project that we are moving towards is the organization of a workshop at the 2025 Agroecology Forum in Malmö, where we will present the collected results," says A. Ādamsone-Fiskoviča. An important aspect that E. Ķīlis talks about is the multi-meaning of the term 'agroecology': "The word is geographically specific. Agroecology in Brazil or Scandinavia means something else." This does not mean that similar practices do not exist in Latvia – people simply do not associate themselves with this concept. Project assistant Eva Āboliņa, who created the national summary of Latvian expert interviews, notes that this concept is often perceived as synonymous with organic farming or permaculture in Latvia: "In Latvia, there is no thinking about agroecology as a system-level approach. This word does not have an unambiguous definition in people's perceptions, and it is used in very different ways." She points out that in interviews, some policymakers acknowledge that the concept is vague and therefore not understood and used because it is too broad. Due to her personal experience, comparing Latvia's situation with Latin America and France, where E. Āboliņa has lived, worked and studied, she points out that agroecology is known in France, but more as an academic or political term, while in Latin America it is much more widely integrated as a living practice and social movement.
The project focuses on several agroecology-related topics, including the development of local food supply chains, environmentally friendly management and soil health, as well as community mobilization. Agroecology is seen as a transdisciplinary approach – both a science, a policy initiative and a social movement aimed at building fair and sustainable food systems with care for the preservation of biodiversity, the improvement of soil health and the appreciation of local, traditional knowledge. (The elements of agroecology highlighted by international definitions are explained in A. Ādamsone-Fiskoviča's blog post – https://www.bscresearch.lv/lv/jaunumi/atzinas-no-agroekologijas-foruma-ungarija). E. Ķīlis draws attention to the role of science in sustainable agriculture, pointing out that often certain areas of soil science, such as soil biology, are not sufficiently studied internationally due to their lack of commercial support: "If the farmer can keep the soil fertile himself, there is no longer a need for industrial products necessary for soil improvement." The project included at least five expert interviews in each country, including with farmers, representatives of non-governmental organisations, policy makers and scientists. In the case of Latvia, all these groups of stakeholders were represented. At the same time, A. Ādamsone-Fiskoviča commented that nowadays it is increasingly difficult to unambiguously divide people into specific roles, since many represent several groups at once. According to E. Āboliņa and other interviewees, agroecology should be an initiative coming from the public side – a "bottom-up", approach not a concept dictated by politics. She shares her thoughts on the possible synergies of agroecology with other sectors in the future, such as the development of tourism in northern Europe in the context of climate change: "If northern countries want to develop tourism, green tourism is a good approach to both nature and the economy."
AE-Pro-Vision's future activities include the development of pilot questionnaires aimed at assessing the understanding and assessment of agroecology in different target groups. A workshop is also planned at the Agroecology Forum in Malmö (more about the event here: https://www.agroecology-europe.org/agroecology-europe-forum-2025/), where the results of the project so far will be presented and discussed with a wider range of representatives of the Baltic Sea region. In addition, BSC researchers involved in the AE-Pro-Vision project are also co-organising a thematic working group at the 2025 Congress of European Rural Sociologists (ESRS) (more information about the congress – https://esrs2025.rsu.lv/ ), which will take place in Riga this summer. This working group focuses on agro-ecological transition at territorial level and how such an approach can contribute to a viable rural future. The need for collective action, participation and the creation of new knowledge in the implementation of agroecology is highlighted, as well as analyses of how different forces – technically, socially, economically and politically – influence these transitions.
In general, the future of agroecology as a concept is uncertain. A. Ādamsone-Fiskoviča emphasizes that the term has not yet taken root in Latvian society: "I am not sure that the concept itself will gain wide resonance, but I am quite optimistic about its content implementation – public consciousness is changing, and young farmers are also coming with a different perspective." E. Ķīlis points out that the spread of agroecology will depend on how and by whom it will start using it – whether it will be implemented by policy documents or whether it will develop organically from practicing communities. Incorporating agroecology into policy frameworks may result in the loss of the broader ideological scope that initially drove this approach forward. "At the same time, if society learns to act in an environmentally friendly way automatically, without deep reflection on the broader relationship between people and nature, it is still positive if it achieves the desired goal."
The AE-Pro-Vision project runs from September 2024 to December 2025. It is coordinated by Svensk Kolinlagring AB (Sweden).