The year 2023 marks 160 years since farmers in the territory of Latvia first had the opportunity to obtain a higher education. This anniversary is also considered the origin of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU, formerly LLU), which carried the word 'agriculture' in its name for many decades. Although back then it was merely a small Agriculture Department at the Riga Polytechnic, today this small seed has grown into an internationally recognised multidisciplinary scientific university, where higher education is pursued by farmers as well as representatives of various other sectors focused on the sustainable use of natural resources.

The path of development for higher agricultural education has been full of significant changes. Its origins can be traced back to 1862, when the Riga Polytechnic was founded, and as early as 1863, an Agriculture Department was established within it. It later became part of the newly founded University of Latvia in Riga, until 1938, when President and Prime Minister Kārlis Ulmanis proclaimed the law Statute of the Jelgava Academy of Agriculture, and Jelgava became the home of higher agricultural education with two faculties – Agriculture and Forestry.