DEVELOPMENT PECULIARITIES OF LITHUANIAN PILOT, TRAINING AND TESTING FARMS

The main function of Lithuanian pilot, training and testing farms (hereinafter – PTT farms) is to enable the agricultural education and training institutions to carry out precision experiments with plants and animals in natural and artificial environmental conditions, provide a framework for theoretical and applied research, to develop innovation and to promote the latest scientific achievements in agriculture.

PTT farms have bases for research and new technologies application and implementation. Their task is to promote scientific knowledge, using a variety of media: to organize conferences, seminars, workshops, field days, to participate in events, presenting the innovations in agriculture. Unfortunately not all of these PTT farms fulfil the expectations, associated with their destination. Due to different circumstances, many of them gives priority to economic activity – the innovative agricultural production, but their results are different. PTT farms scientific and experimental development research areas are too narrow or have lost their relevance. Carried out dissemination of research results is unsystematic, spontaneous and not guaranteed feedback with the beneficiaries of these results.

This raises the need to evaluate Lithuania PTT farms activity data, to reveal specifics of their activities, priorities and determine the reasons of these weaknesses. The aim of this article is to provide recommendations for PTT farm business development.

During the investigation there have been analyzed Lithuanian’s PTT farms documents and conducted expert interviews with their managers. On the basis of carried out analysis and evaluation, there were presented business development recommendations for PTT farms.