LV EN RU DE FR

Agricultural Entrepreneurship

Course developers

Prior knowledge

Ekon2130, Theory of Economics

LauZ2046, Agricultural Resources

VadZ3024, Basics of Enterprise's Management

Course abstract

The course is dedicated to raising awareness of the nature of the business, building companies and ensuring their functioning. The study course is divided into two parts, where the general part includes business principles, analyses the business environment, production resources and factors, business planning, analyses competitiveness aspects and guiding principles. The special section takes into account the organisation of the work of enterprises specific to the agricultural sector, the preconditions for their formation and selection of specialisation, job planning, risk factors, the financing and management of business, the opportunities for cooperation and integration and the importance.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge of the nature of the business, the aspects of its implementation and factors affecting it, the ways of assessing the economic and financial performance of the company and the possibilities for increasing competitiveness.
Skills in setting up business plans, analysis of business activities and risk assessment in farms. Student is able to assess itself as a manager of the company and to define criteria for recruitment and remuneration of employees in the company.
Students are competent in setting up an agricultural enterprise, in defining the nature of its activities and to determine its specialisation, in evaluating the business plan and carrying out an analysis of economic activity in an agricultural enterprise, in evaluating the possibilities of financial and cooperation possibilities.
1. Capable to characterise production resources and their factors – electronically filled test.
2. Know and be able to analyse the competitiveness of a company by quantitative methods, taking into account the business environment and sphere of activity – own-initiative work.
Know and be able to analyse, apply and see relationships in the application of business concepts and basic elements, taking into account their nature, classification, characteristics and other elements – quiz 1.
3. Capable of preparing and presenting a business plan for upgrading the agricultural business.
4. Capable to identify types of risks and developing measures to manage them in an agricultural enterprise – electronically filled test.

5. Know and be able to describe the operational principles of an agricultural enterprises, forms of cooperation, relevance and fundamental principles of their formation and to describe forms of integration – quiz 2

Course Content(Calendar)

General business
1. The nature of the business and historical evolution. 2 h
2. Entrepreneur and Entrepreneur Capacities. 2 h
3. Business spheres and types. 2 h
4. The enterprise, its renderings and derivatives, the typology of companies. 2 h
5. The life cycle of the company. The development phases of the company. 2 h
6. Common and different characteristics, objectives, ideas and visions of business and commercial
activities. 2 h
7. Preconditions for starting a business. The common and differing characteristics of the establishment and start-up of the company. 2 h
8. Factors in the external and internal environment of business, their characteristics and identification. 2 h
9. Production resources and factors. 2 h
10. Wages and labour needs. 2 h
Electronically filled test: Production resources and factors, including labour and related costs.
11. Nature and functions of planning. Specific business planning for the company. 2 h
12. Organization of business, structuring of business. 2 h
13. Running the company, the role of manager in running the company. 2 h
14. Competition, competitiveness and quantitative methods for its assessment. 2 h
Own-initiative work: Competitiveness and quantitative methods for assessing it. 2 h
15. The financial and banking sector in Latvia2 h
16. Behaviour economics in business. 2 h
Quiz 1: Key elements, concepts, functions and applications of business

Agricultural business
17. Preconditions for starting the agricultural business. 2 h
18. Small and medium-sized agricultural business. 2 h
19. Peasant farming as a phenomenon. 2 h
20. Increasing and expanding the business of agriculture. 2 h
21. System and role of banks and other credit institutions in agricultural business. 2 h
22. Planning in the rural enterprise and in the national economy. 2 h
23. The most important planning methods, their application. 2 h
24. Stages of drawing up plans. 2 h
25. Financial planning of the enterprise: assessment of the planned economic activity. 2 h
26. The business project, its design and economic justification (business plan). 2 h
Business plan and presenting it in a group

27. Economic and other contracts related to agricultural activity, their content, their legal and economic nature. 2 h
28. Organisation, establishment and operation of agricultural holdings. 2 h
29. The nature of innovation, their feasibility in the agricultural company. 2 h
30. Risk factors in agricultural production, prevention or mitigation measures. 2 h
Electronically filled test: types of risks and their management in an agricultural enterprise
31. Cooperation in agriculture, its role and self-governance of economic activities. 2 h
Practical work: assessment of cooperation by SWOT method
32. Integration and its objectives. Typology and classification of integration. 2 h

Quiz 2: Organising agricultural enterprises, business cycle, risks, agricultural cooperation, integration

Requirements for awarding credit points

An exam.
An examination task consists of:
• tests completed during the semester;
• two quizzes on the theoretical knowledge acquired in the study course;
• the practical tasks and their presentation on the topics learned during the course;
• developed a business plan for attracting investment in an agricultural company and its presentation.
All quizzes, tests, business plan, and practical jobs must be performed successfully.

Overdue practical works should be done according to the procedure defined at the LLU, failed tests should be repeated during the lecturer’s planned time.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Study material studies on the planning and development of agricultural business.
Preparing and presenting a business plan.

Preparation for tests and quizzes.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

The examination rating shall be the average mark from the assessment of the general and special part of the study course.

Compulsory reading

1. Abizāre V. (2004) Ievads uzņēmējdarbībā. SIA „Izdevniecība RAKA”, Rīga, 140 lpp.
2. Alsiņa R. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbības plānošanas principi un metodes. Mācību līdzeklis ekonomikas profila bakalauru un profesionālo programmu studijām. Rīga, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte, 229 lpp.
3. Alsiņa R. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbības pamati. Rīga : KIF "Biznesa komplekss", 24 lpp.
4. Ābeltiņa A. u.c. (2013) Uzņēmējdarbības vide un tās attīstības aspekti: monogrāfija, Rīga, Biznesa augstskola Turība, 346 lpp.
5. Auziņa A., Zvirbule-Bērziņa A., Mihejeva L. (2004) Plānošana un ražošanas procesa organizēšanas pamatprincipi. Biznesa augstskola Turība SIA, Rīga, 144 lpp.
6. Dobele A., Špoģis K., Mihejeva L., u.c.(1999) Saimniekošanas mācība. Ozolnieki, Latvijas Lauksaimniecības konsultāciju un izglītības atbalsta centrs, 344.lpp.
7. Leonoviča L. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbība un investīcijas. Rīga : RTU Izd., 118 lpp.
8. Muška A. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbības pamatkurss. Rīga : KIF "Biznesa komplekss", 120 lpp.
9. Muška A. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbības plānošana. Studiju materiāls. Rīga : KIF "Biznesa komplekss", 96 lpp.
10. Pelše G. Ruperte I. (2003) Uzņēmēja rokasgrāmata. Jumava, Rīga, 359 lpp.
11. Slavinska I. (2005) Uzņēmējdarbības plānošana un kontrole. Rīga, Biznesa augstskola "Turība", 175 lpp.
12. Vasiļjeva L. (2005) Maza uzņēmuma biznesa ekonomika un plānošana, Rīga, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte, 75 lpp
13. Hofs K.G. (2019) Biznesa ekonomika. 3.izdevums. Rīga, SIA J.Rozes apgāds, 602 lpp.
14. Sekaran U., Roger B. (2010) Research methods for buisness. A skill- building approach. Fifth edition. A John and Sons, Ltd, Publications, 468 lpp.
15. Zvirbule-Bērziņa A. (2006) Ražošanas menedžments. Rīga : Turība, 150 lpp.

16. Zariņa V. Strēle I. (2009) Finanšu plānošana uzņēmumā. Rīga, Lietišķās informācijas dienests, 105.lpp.

Further reading

1. Baļšakovs S. (2008). Inovatīvā darbība Latvijā. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC, 323 lpp.
2. Gerbers M. E. (2014). Uzņēmējdarbības meistarība. Ko zina ikviens veiksmīgs uzņēmējs. Zoldnera izdevniecība, 219 lpp.
3. Pīlēns U. (2018). (Mans) uzņēmēja kods. Apgāds Zvaigzne ABC, 430. lpp.
4. Uzņēmējdarbības loģistikas terminu angļu-latviešu vārdnīca (2007). N. Sprancmanis, u.c. Rīga: Zvaigzne ABC, c. 168 lpp.
5. Uzņēmējdarbības veiksmes faktori Latvijā: apsekojuma rezultāti. (2007). Rīga, LR Centrālā statistikas pārvalde,
6. Uzņēmējdarbība: tālmācības studiju kurss. (2004). Kursa vad. R. Alsiņa. Rīga, Latvijas Uzņēmējdarbības un menedžmenta akad., 280 lpp.
7. Uzņēmējdarbība lauku ilgtspējīgā attīstībā. (2004). Māc. līdz. lauku uzņēmēju kvalifikācijas paaugstināšanai, LLU studentiem un maģistrantiem, tehnikumu audzēkņiem. Jelgava: LLU, 318 lpp.
8. Vīksne A. (2009). Savs bizness. Rīga: Lietišķās informācijas dienests, 232 lpp.
9. Vīksne A. (2009). Veramies ciet! Kā izbeigt un likvidēt kapitālsabiedrības darbību. Rīga: 112 lpp.

10. Forands I. (2009). Biznesa vadības tehnoloģijas, Rīga, Latvijas Izglītības fonds, 304 lpp.

Periodicals and other sources

1. Interneta resursi: www.vaad.gov.lv; www.lad.gov.lv; www.zm.gov.lv; www.pvd.gov.lv
2. Publikācijas par lauksaimniecības uzņēmējdarbību nozares žurnālos “Saimnieks LV”, “Agrotops”, “Latvijas lopkopis” u.c.
3. Latvijas Vēstnesis. Latvijas Republikas oficiālais izdevums [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: https://www.vestnesis.lv/
4. Scopus datubāze [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: https://www.scopus.com
5. Web of Science datubāzes [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: https://apps.webofknowledge.com
6. ScienceDirect Freedom Collection datubāze [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: https://www.sciencedirect.com
7. EBSCO eBook Academic Collection datubāze [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/search/advanced?vid=0&sid=5b9d8f4e-5779-40cd-9b4b-5e20f3d1432b%40pdc-v-sessmgr02
8. EBSCOhost datubāzes[tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: http://search.ebscohost.com/

9. Wiley Online Journals datubāze [tiešsaiste]. Pieejams: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Notes

Compulsory study course for full-time students of the professional bachelor's degree programme “Agriculture” in the 4th semester and part-time students in the 6th semester.