LATVIJAS LAUKSAIMNIECIBAS UN MEZA ZINATNU AKADEMIJA BIEDRIBA

Their core work

The Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forest Sciences is a national scientific association representing researchers across Latvia's agricultural and forestry sectors. They contribute specialist knowledge to European ERA-NET collaborative research networks, working on sustainable crop production — including plant breeding, integrated pest management, and genotype evaluation — alongside forest-based bioeconomy. With Latvia's forests covering over half the country's land area, their forestry expertise is grounded in real national context. In European projects they serve as a national anchor point, connecting Latvian research capacity to cross-border programs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both H2020 projects ran simultaneously (2017–2023 and 2018–2023), so a true before-after trajectory is not visible from this data. What the keyword split does reveal is a dual institutional mandate — forestry sciences through ForestValue and agricultural crop sciences through SusCrop — two distinct but complementary domains housed under a single national academy. SusCrop carries the larger EC contribution and denser keyword profile, suggesting crop production is the more active research direction.

With SusCrop carrying stronger keyword depth and larger funding, future collaborations are most likely in sustainable cropping systems, plant breeding, and integrated pest management rather than in forestry.

How they like to work

LLMZA participates exclusively as a consortium member and has not led any H2020 project, which is consistent with a national scientific academy that contributes specialist knowledge rather than drives European project management. Despite only 2 projects, they connected with 57 unique partners across 25 countries — a reflection of ERA-NET-Cofund structures, which aggregate large national research communities into broad coalitions. They are accustomed to operating within large multi-national consortia but maintain a quiet, contributing role within them.

Their 57 unique partners across 25 countries — reached through just two projects — reflects the coalition structure of ERA-NET-Cofund programs rather than individually cultivated bilateral ties. Geographic exposure spans most of Europe, with likely strong Baltic and Nordic connections given the forestry and cold-climate agriculture focus.

What sets them apart

As Latvia's national academy spanning both agricultural and forest sciences, LLMZA bridges two domains that most research institutes treat separately — a dual mandate that is rare and practical for consortium builders needing a single Baltic partner across food-system sustainability and forest bioeconomy. Latvia's economic dependence on both forestry and agriculture gives the academy's research an applied, nationally grounded character. For projects seeking Baltic representation in ERA-NET programs, they are a credible and well-networked national entry point.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SusCrop
  Their largest project by EC funding (EUR 33,405), covering sustainable crop production with emphasis on breeding, IPM, and genotype research — their most technically specific and densely documented engagement.
• ForestValue
  Demonstrates their forestry dimension, placing them within a European network focused on forest-based bioeconomy innovation — a sector with rising policy and commercial relevance as the EU bioeconomy strategy matures.