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In the recent years farmers has begun to search for additional on-farm activities in order to satisfy consumers' needs and preferences, and to increase their incomes as well. During that time many alternative forms of tourism have appeared and developed, such as rural tourism, agritourism, cultural tourism, etc. In this regard, the food is supposed to play an essential role in bridging agriculture and tourism, and consequently to reveal an opportunity for SMEs to develop the existing niche market, and to enhance sustainability and vitality of local areas. The survey is a part of FP7 Project, entitled "Farming transitions: Pathways towards regional sustainability of agriculture in Europe" (FarmPath), carried out on the area of the Municipality of Elena, located in the Central-north part of Bulgaria. This region is typical with its unique local resources, combining the tourism advantages, local people, and the traditions in agriculture, food and culinary as well. This case study aims at introducing and disseminating "a new form of local governance", which will bring some form of health or ethical benefits both for the consumers and the community as a whole, and will promote the people, places, best farming practices, and the cuisine in the area. The value-added products are considered as an essential and adequate marketing tool in order to achieve this synergy effect and the already set up purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the research: Agriculture is a dominant form of land management, delivering products (food, fodder and non-food) to meet human needs. The production process also has various externalities for its surroundings. Therefore, the notion that agriculture does not only provide/produce commodity outputs but also performs additional functions (ecosystem services) and creates non-commodity outputs (public goods), necessitates the analyses of the ecosystem services provided by agricultural activities in the territorial context. The aim of the paper is to present and assess the causal connections between ecosystem services provided by agricultural production and their contribution to the territorial competitiveness. Methods of the research: The analysis is based on the example of the case study region as a comparative analysis and synthesis of scientific literature and the methods of induction and deduction were used to investigate the theoretical aspect and characteristics of ecosystem services provision and territorial competitiveness. Later, mathematical modelling is applied. Results and conclusion: It was found that different ecosystem services and non-commodity outputs have a positive influence on territorial competitiveness as the strongest impact is from the agricultural land resulting from provisioning ecosystem services (food, water quality regulation, soil formation, recreational benefits etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas are not homogenous. Their heterogeneity is a precondition for simultaneous appearance of various functions - economic, social and environmental. Rural areas imply multifunctionality and their multifunctional characteristics are ground for implementation of various policies that support environment, social and economic functions. The paper aims to review EU policies that have direct and indirect impact on multifunctional characteristics of rural areas. Potential impact of EU policies is assessed in three domains - economic, social and environment. In each domain expected effects are assessed from the point of multi-functionality. Potential impact in economic functions is expected in production of commodities; provision of monetary income and access to consumer markets; food safety (quality and maintaining productive potential); diversification or rural activities (through development of new activities related to farming). Potential impact in social functions is expected in establishment and maintenance of social ties; keeping young generations in rural areas; decreasing the migration to urban areas; improving age structure of farmers; preserving and maintaining cultural capital; preservation of rural communities and the status of each individual within those communities. Potential impact in environmental function is expected in environmental protection; ecological/bio - farming; afforestation of rural areas; preserving biodiversity; preserving natural resources [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In an attempt to establish how treatment with inhaled extra-fine beclomethasone/formoterol (I-EF-BDP/F) formulation differs from other combinations of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long acting beta-agonist (LABA), we studied lung function and markers of airway inflammation upon switching to the extra-fine formulation and after 8 weeks of treatment with it. Methods: We carried out a real-life clinical observation of undercontrolled asthmatic patients switched over from dry powder inhalers of fluticasone/salmeterol and budesonide/formoterol to I-EF-BDP/F (Foster®, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Italy). The effects of 8-weeks of treatment were documented by means of visual analog scale (VAS), quality of life by Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ), spirometry and markers of airway or systemic inflammation: exhaled breath temperature (EBT), blood eosinophils (Eos), and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP). Before/after treatment differences between forced vital capacity percent of predicted (%FVC), a simple indicator of small airways involvement, were calculated and subjects were ranked accordingly to reflect the magnitude of the therapeutic response. Subjects above the 75th percentile (n = 15), “top responders”, were then compared with those below the 25th percentile (n = 15) “poor responders”. Results: On average, the 59 patients completing the study (mean age± SD 51 ± 12 years, 38 women) had significant improvement in VAS and QLQ scores at the end of the treatment period (49.1 ± 2.4 vs. 73.1 ± 2.05 and 146.1 ± 2.7 vs. 176.7.1 ± 3.4 respectively, P < 0.001), but not in the inflammatory indicators (EBT, CRP and Eos). However, when comparing the “top responders” with the “poor responders”, significant improvement in these inflammatory indicators was observed: EBT significantly decreased from 34.04/mean/± 0.30/s.e.m./[°C] to 33.57 ± 0.33, P = 0.003, Eos in blood fell from 381.7 ± 91.2 [cells/μL] to 244.2 ± 43.2, P = 0.02. Before/after treatment differences in hsCRP decreased significantly in the top responders compared with the poor responders (Mann–Whitney test, P = 0.04). Conclusion: Asthmatic subjects who had the most improvement in FVC after transition to I-EF-BDP/F from other combined ICS/LABA preparations also demonstrated a significant decrease in some indicators of airway/systemic inflammation. These results support the notion that I-EF-BDP/F exerts an effect also at the level of the small airways through a reduction of the level of air trapping. Patients in whom inflammation of the small airways plays an important clinical role are the ones to derive most benefit from this small airways tailored treatment. However, improved compliance due to the “promise of a new drug” effect should also be considered as contributing to the treatment results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience is the ability to deal with shocks and stresses, including the unknown and previously unimaginable, such as the Covid-19 crisis. This paper assesses (i) how different farming systems were exposed to the crisis, (ii) which resilience capacities were revealed and (iii) how resilience was enabled or constrained by the farming systems' social and institutional environment. The 11 farming systems included have been analysed since 2017. This allows a comparison of pre-Covid-19 findings and the Covid-19 crisis. Pre-Covid findings are from the SURE-Farm systematic sustainability and resilience assessment. For Covid-19 a special data collection was carried out during the early stage of lockdowns. Our case studies found limited impact of Covid-19 on the production and delivery of food and other agricultural products. This was due to either little exposure or the agile activation of robustness capacities of the farming systems in combination with an enabling institutional environment. Revealed capacities were mainly based on already existing connectedness among farmers and more broadly in value chains. Across cases, the experience of the crisis triggered reflexivity about the operation of the farming systems. Recurring topics were the need for shorter chains, more fairness towards farmers, and less dependence on migrant workers. However, actors in the farming systems and the enabling environment generally focused on the immediate issues and gave little real consideration to long-term implications and challenges. Hence, adaptive or transformative capacities were much less on display than coping capacities. The comparison with pre-Covid findings mostly showed similarities. If challenges, such as shortage of labour, already loomed before, they persisted during the crisis. Furthermore, the eminent role of resilience attributes was confirmed. In cases with high connectedness and diversity we found that these system characteristics contributed significantly to dealing with the crisis. Also the focus on coping capacities was already visible before the crisis. We are not sure yet whether the focus on short-term robustness just reflects the higher visibility and urgency of shocks compared to slow processes that undermine or threaten important system functions, or whether they betray an imbalance in resilience capacities at the expense of adaptability and transformability. Our analysis indicates that if transformations are required, e.g. to respond to concerns about transnational value chains and future pandemics from zoonosis, the transformative capacity of many farming systems needs to be actively enhanced through an enabling environment. [Display omitted] • Comparison of pre-Covid-19 findings and Covid-19 crisis • All systems displayed adequate agility to activate coping capacities. • The crisis triggered reflexivity about the operation of the farming systems. • Transformative capacities were not observed. • The systematic resilience assessment revealed system vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]