MUNICIPAL ACTIVITIES IN LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS: CASE STUDY OF ZEMGALE REGION

According to the Actor Network Theory, the local food system is a set of interconnected processes and social agents including municipalities as a business environment. In the context of rural studies, support for local food producers is important for local communities. By content analysis of the information available on the websites of Zemgale region's municipalities and the opinions of municipal specialists on local support measures for entrepreneurs, the aim of the paper was to identify the activities of municipalities in local food systems. Within a context of local food systems, the authors revealed that municipalities in Zemgale region provide support activities in two main directions: food businesses and tourism activities. The analysis of business support measures showed that local food producers in municipalities are promoted and supported in a number of ways through branding, special events and trade facilitation, seminars and annual awards. Activities in the field of tourism revealed cooperation, involving local food producers in the tourism system and ensuring the recognition of local food products to a wider group of consumers. Integrating local food businesses into tourism routes and thematic activities, in other words making locally produced food an integral part of the tourism product, develops small and medium-sized enterprises that contribute to the socio-economic resilience and environmental sustainability of rural communities, local innovations and creativity. In Zemgale, municipal activities for support of local food producers in the context of COVID-19 crisis are strengthening rural communities thus supporting and helping entrepreneurs to adapt to changes.