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NKJ Inside: “Change the food culture”

Meet NKJ board: Liisa Saarenmaa hopes for a more sustainable food culture in the Nordic region. In ten years, she believes that the food is produced closer to the consumer and that we eat other things than today.

 

 

Liisa is an alternate member of the NKJ board since 2000. In her view, it is the most important task for NKJ to give the Nordic perspective on agriculture and food research. As a whole, the Nordic research community gains a lot through cooperation. The national research get new approaches and there is a greater diversity and creativity.

– NKJ isn’t as visible as it should be, but still has an important role in the preparation of policy.

Bioeconomy

Liisa is working on various research issues at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland, nowadays focusing more on bioeconomy than on forestry, as she did before.

Before joining the ministry, she was at the University of Helsinki in Finland, at the faculty of forest ecology.

– My research was about rejuvenation and I used AI as a methodology in my doctoral dissertation.

Sustainable food

A crucial issue in agriculture and food research is, according to Liisa, sustainability. How can our food production and food culture in the Nordic region be sustainable, and how should we relate to the current climate change? The world’s growing population is also an important issue to consider in agricultural and food research.

In order to make the food culture more sustainable, Liisa thinks we must produce our food close to the consumer – ideally, it should be partly produced in our own homes – and eat less meat.

  • In the future, insects become a common part of our food.
  • New Nordic Food is a good example of how to apply national research results in the Nordic perspective. Food, with all its dimensions, becomes more important all the time because of climate change that forces us to change eating habits. That’s the most important thing, from my point of view, right now.

Writes books for her grandchildren

In addition to being sharp in Nordic bioeconomics, Liisa has another talent: she writes children’s books for her six grandchildren. And she also sails her boat together with her daughter and her family.

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NKJ researchers help stopping devastating tree disease

Researchers revealed the genome sequence of a devastating tree pathogen. The disease threatens the Scandinavian broadleaf forests and this new knowledge can help stop it!

 

The new genome resource can be used in future population genomic studies for identification of haplotypes and alleles, and in identifying which effectors may function in infection of woody host plants.

The genome sequence presented provides a resource that can underpin further investigation into the mechanisms of disease caused by P. plurivora, a prevalent but little researched pathogen of important tree species. Our genome sequence of P. plurivora is consistent with the genome architecture of other sequenced Phytophthora species, and we found evidence for elevated ploidy, as can occur in Phytophthora species.

Causes huge economic loss

DNA strings. Illustration.Plant pathogens belonging to the genus Phytophthora cause disastrous diseases and are responsible for multi-billion dollar losses in agriculture and forestry. Several Phytophthoras such as P. plurivora, P. alni, P. cambivoraand P. cactorum are now endemic problems in Scandinavian forests.

Despite causing diseases of different tree species in forest ecosystems, little is known about the mechanisms by which Phytophthoras invade and colonise trees, or the molecular interactions that take place between tree infecting Phytophthoras and host trees. Significant investment has been targeted to develop solutions for Phytophthora crop diseases, most notably for P. infestans and P. sojae.

Limited knowledge

By contrast, there has been divestment in tree biology, particularly the genomic and molecular skills. Consequently, we have limited knowledge about the infection biology of endemic and recently discovered pathogenic Phytophthoras that are an increasing threat to trees in Sweden and worldwide, and the tree resistance mechanisms that may control them. The overarching objective of our research is to investigate mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and to identify ways to control diseases caused by tree infecting Phytophthoras.

Here we present a draft genome sequence of P. plurivora, originally isolated from diseased European beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Malmö, Sweden. Compared to other sequenced Phytophthora species, the P. plurivora genome assembly is relatively compact, spanning 41 Mb.

Article – Draft Genome Sequence for the Tree Pathogen Phytophthora plurivora

Text: Ramesh Vetukuri, Kaia Ekegren

Ramesh Vetukuri is the coordinator of a SNS-NKJ network:

NKJ-SNS 06

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NKJ board meeting

Group of people outside with forest and tractors in background. Photo.
The NKJ board in June 2018.
Tree people sitting at conference table. Photo.
The board meeting was held in the most southern part of Sweden, at Alnarps castle outside of Lund. Alnarp is the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Here Siri Anzjøn, Ann-Margaret Grøndahl and Torfi Jóhannesson are listening to and taking part in discussions.
Woman sitting at a computer. Photo.
Suvi Ryynänen.
People sitting at a set table with candel light. Photo.
Dinner and an occasion to talk through all the impressions of the day. From the left: Siri Anzjøn, Niels Gøtke, chairman Nina Solheim Flæte, Sveinn Margeirsson and Suvi Ryynänen
Man sitting outside at a coffee table. Photo.
Niels Gøtke having a nice cup of coffee outdoors, the summer evening is warm.
Landscape in sunset. Photo.
Beautiful evening after a day full of fruitful discussions, decisions and contacts.
Close up on purple flowers, white mansion in the background. Photo.
Morning at Bjärsjölagårds castle and time for excursion.
Three men standing outside at a farm. Photo.
Hans Ramel (in the middle) owns Öveds Kloster, which is the first stop for the day. We got to know a lot about the terms for a big Swedish farm and gets an inside perspective from practitioners.
Dog sitting by the door of a tractor.
One of the coworkers at Öveds Kloster.
Group of people walking on a field, large group of cows in the background. Photo.
Next stop is KC Ranch.
Group of people standing outside looking at the ground. Photo.
NKJ board found a lot of interesting things visiting KC Ranch.
A heard of cows on a pasture. Photo.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence… Carl Axel Dahlgren (next picture), owner of KC Ranch has a system for the grazing of the areas.
Man standing next to pasture with cows. Photo.
Carl Axel Dahlgren, owner of KC Ranch.
Man standing in front of a cow. Photo.
NKJ general secretary having a moment with a cow. Wonder if he got a nice picture?
Four people walking on a field. Photo.
Very dry spring has burnt the pastures at KC Ranch. Now leaving for Hällåkra wineyard.
Group of people standing outside. Photo.
Håkan Hansson (sunglasses in the middle) owns the wineyard together with his wife.
Crop field with black sign in front of it. Photo.
“This is where it all started”. The wine grows in rows down the hills.
Five peple standing next to crops. Photo.
NKJ board inspecting the cultures.
Close up on green plant. Photo.
A glass of nice wine. At least a promising start!
Two men standing and one man sitting at a table outside. Photo.
The Hällåkra wineyard gave lots to talk about.
Group of people sitting outside at a set table. Photo.
Lunch under the trees in the garden, tasting the wine that grew about 100 metres away.
Man standing in a doorway gesturing. Photo.
Ebbe Persson, owner of a farm close to the city Trelleborg. We have a look at the multifunctional protection zones.
Group of people standing on a field looking at small crops. Photo.
Ebbe Persson, in yellow t-shirt, shows the sunflowers at the end of the huge sugar beet field.
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SNS-NKJ network BioWiseTrans meets to enable bioeconomy

Enabling Sustainable Transition to a Biobased Economy – The BioWiseTrans Network meets for the 2nd time in Hamar.

Composition of images with a group of people looking at stuff. Photo.

18-20 June, BioWiseTrans partners Nordregio, NIBIO, LUKE, Oslo University and Karlstad University came together in Hamar and sorroundings for its second workshop. Like last time and importantly, different stakeholders from Norway, Sweden and Finland joined us.

Study the bumps in the road

The excellent program set up by Norwegian partners focused on the need to address and study conflicts and synergies in the ongoing transition towards a fully biobased economy. Foremost focusing on forests, the group of 15 researchers and practitioners jointly experienced and discussed balancing goals of economic uses (e.g. production), social uses (e.g. recreation and tourism) and environmental concerns (e.g. conservation, restrictions and regulations). Discussions were also fuelled through the bioeconomy strategy in Hedmark, county and municipal planning, usages of common land for forestry and grazing, outdoor life and forestry, second home developments, and a visit to the gene bank of the forest seed centre.

Both new and old

It is clear that the biobased economy consist of both new and old land uses within forests, agriculture and fisheries. To adopt governance and management practices to the current land, water and resource uses, it is important to use sustainable development as a basis. The governance structures in place together with local participatory processes have been more or less functioning for decades (not without conflicts and dialogues however). In the current transition process it is therefore important to ask the following questions: What to sustain? What to develop?

In addition to thought provoking discussions, the group also enjoyed a tour to the tallest wood building in the world, the beautifully and innovatively restored dome in Hamar, and dinner with a Napoleon touch and some farm produced beer.

Don’t change what is functioning

One of the most vivid memories remain from visiting the Åstdalens forest associations by the book example of management of the common land (with reference to Elinor Ostroms theories on common resourse use). The head of the board told the group about the ongoing negotiations between the land owners about how many cattle heads are going to be allowed per farm unit. A research project in the area also indicates the synergies between clear cuts in forestry and agriculture, as the cattle tend to prefer to graze on the clear cuts. This shows that there is no need to transform anything that is functioning.

The BioWiseTrans network also discussed its final conference to take place in Karlstad 27-28 March. Stay tuned for any updates in this regard.

 

Text: Elin Slätmo, Karen Refsgaard

Photo: Michael Kull

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Fifteen ways to improve the Nordic bioeconomy

Nordic bioeconomy is heading towards a future with refreshed energy! Since Wednesday there is a strategy to lift and support every Nordic step for a sustainable society.

Hand on pink fabric, pink section with red text. Illustration.

The new action plan gives the Nordic Region a still leading role in the work to create a sustainable society. It is meant to facilitate the transition from traditional agriculture and forestry to technologically advanced industries that optimize the use of biomass to access its full potential and create added value.

“We are facing a new era of bioeconomy where new industries can arise and jobs are created. If we do it in a good way, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture industries can benefit greatly from upgrading biomass to more valuable products”, said Sven-Erik Bucht, Swedish minister for rural development, to norden.org.

The Nordic Bioeconomic Panel has elaborated the strategy. The vision is to accelerate the development of Nordic bioeconomy through strong political support at both national and Nordic levels. The strategy has four legs:
∙ Competitive biobased industries
∙ Sustainable resource management
∙ Resilient and varied ecosystems
∙ Including economic development

The program identifies fifteen ways to work for bioeconomy (read about them in link below). 

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NKJ in new Nordic agri/food cooperation

NKJ will fund and take part in the work of the Nordic Food Partnership, a recently founded cooperation for synergies and exchange in the agricultural and food sectors in the Nordics.

 

June 1st the Nordic Food Partnership had its founding meeting. NKJ will fund the cooperation with 300 000 DKK. The chairman of NKJ, Nina Solheim Flæte, will also take place in the steering committee were also representatives from all Nordic countries will contribute.

The Nordic Food Partnership will gather key stakeholders of the Nordic food system to develop a common agenda for research, education and innovation. The partnership wants to identify common challenges and establish Nordic collaborations and synergy. It wants to be a unified voice to drive the transformation of the Food System in the Nordics, in Europe and in global interaction. There are a few areas where the challenges are the same across the Nordic countries and can be handled more efficiently together. The countries have world-class excellence in individual areas and it would be of great interest to spread and share this best-practices.

Except for the 300 000 DKK from NKJ, the Food Nexus Nordic will add 200 000 DKK. The administrative host will be RISE in Sweden.

 

The vision of the Nordic Food Partnership is…

…“to build on Nordic strengths in order to drive the transformation of the food system towards a system that enables the production, packaging, distribution and consumption of safe, affordable and nutritious food with as little harm as possible. We will target the challenges of the food system, such as security, sustainability, health and knowledge provision in the Nordics, in Europe and in global interaction.”

 

These are the partners:

 

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Don’t miss the IUFRO conference!

In september there will be a conference about Landscape Management in Prague.

The conference will be about new ways of gathering and processing data and remote sensing, the impact of climate change, modelling and how to bridge the gap between science and practice.

Kristina Blennow, professor of Landscape Analysis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden, is one of the keynote speakers. Another is Lluis M. Plà-Aragonès, associate professor, Department of Mathematics and a Senior Researcher at the Agrotecnio Research Center at University of Lleida, Spain and Pete Bettinger, professor, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia, USA, is also coming.

Deadline for abstract submission is June 30.

  • Read more about the abstract submission here! (link not available)
  • Read all about registration and program here! (link not available)
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New assignments for NKJ

NKJ got new exciting assignments and we are financing to eleven networks in 2017.

Scenic view of rapeseed field. Photo.On February 6 last year, the seminar “Digitalization of agriculture – when and how is the big revolution?” was arranged by NKJ together with Partnership Alnarp, SLU. NKJ was also co-organizer of ICT Agris Conference 24 November 2017 in Copenhagen: “ICT-AGRI Conference on ICT and Robotics for a Sustainable Agriculture”. Digitalization is and has been a priority issue, and the emphasis in the latest NKJ call was digitalization. There is a lot going on in this important issue, and NKJ wants to contribute to the development.

In December, NKJ also attended a seminar on the reindeer husbandry. This was based on an report initiated by NKJ. The seminar set the course for the future of the reindeer husbandry.

During the year, NKJ continued the work for increased knowledge and Nordic cooperation in the agricultural and food sector, and these arrangements are part of this striving.

New assignments

Last year we also received new assignments. One came from Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation and the Nordic Council of Ministers and deals with the digitalization. NKJ will plan for activities in 2018 to bring the matter forward.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has also commissioned NKJ to coordinate a project on carbon storage in land. It will be exciting to develop and arrange activities on the subject!

Deepend cooperation

NKJ has deepened its cooperation with Food Nexus to strengthen Nordic contacts in the food sector. We are also co-applicants in an application to the Social Fund. The Swedish Farmers’ Association is the main applicant and we want to look at how we can supply the industry with labor.

In order to strengthen the Nordic position in agricultural and food research in Europe, we actively participate in European contexts such as JPI FACCE, SCAR and ERA-NETs.

Read the NKJ Annual Report 2017 (PDF)

 

The networks that have received funding from NKJ for 2018-2019 are:

  • Added value to Nordic Baltic sustainable food research with quality and health perspective, coordinator: Gerd Vegarud, NMBU, Norway
  • Nordic feeding recommendations for horses, coordinator: Rasmus Bovberg Jensen, NMBU, Norway
  • Effects of extreme weather on agricultural production and environment, coordinator: Marianne Bechmann, NIBIO, Norway
  • NORWAY – Nordic Ovine Research, Surveillance and Epidemiology, Coordinator: Clare Phythian, NMBU, Norway
  • The Nordic Rye Forum, coordinator: Rikard Landberg, Chalmers, Sweden
  • Healthy Outdoors for Sustainable Milk Production, Coordinator: Päivi Rajala Schultz, University of Helsinki, Finland

Together with SNS, NKJ finances in 2018-2019:

  • NKJ-SNS 05: Advancing the bioeconomy transition in the Nordic Region (BioWiseTrans), coordinator: Karen Refsgaard, Nordregio
  • NKJ-SNS 06: DIALOGUE BIOCONTROL – Improving utilization of biocontrol research for practical plant protection solutions in agriculture and forestry, coordinator: Ramesh Vetukuri, SLU
  • NKJ-SNS 07: Neonectria cankers on trees – meeting changed climatic conditions and increased problems in Nordic horticulture and forest production by interdisciplinary networking, coordinator: Jorunn Børve, NIBIO
  • NKJ-SNS 08: Genes4Change: Adaptation, mitigation and breeding of trees and crops for future climate, coordinator: Katri Kärkkäinen, LUKE
  • NKJ-SNS 09: FiberTies – The use of fibrous materials from biomass, coordinator: Anne Christine Steenkjær Hastrup, Danish Technological Institute
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Bioeconomy and digitalization – Shaping the Nordic future

SNS and NKJ have initiated the work to prepare the roadmap for the digitalization of the Nordic bioeconomy.
Black tree in silhouette with dark blue background. Illustration.April 17th SNS and NKJ gathered people with expertise in the agricultural, forest and digital sectors to learn, discuss and take a step forward in digitalization of the bioeconomy. Experts say we are on the edge to a structural shift paramount to the industrial revolution – digitalization is around the corner.

ANNETTE MELLBYE VISITED THE SEMINAR

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Two women sitting at a table talking. Photo.
Annette Mellbye in talk with other seminar participants.

Our very competent moderator Malin von Essen kept focus and speed the whole day.

She first welcomed Anette Mellbye, consultant at Rekode, board member, advisor and digital influencer, as a speaker under the headline “No longer business as usual: digitalization in the bioeconomy”.

Her point was how digitalization challenges the operating assumptions of any business, and how this requires organizations to transform both their business models and culture.

Group of people sitting in rows. Photo.
Filip Lundin, consultant at MacLean, was one of the speakers, here in conversation with Kristin Borresen, Graminor.

Next speaker was Filip Landin, consultant at Maclean, talking about ”Internet of Things in agriculture and forestry” and Erick Thürmer, CEO Thürmer Tools, about “Digitalization trends and the art of 3d printing”.

All three speakers were highly appreciated by the audience and their speeches planted new thoughts with their different perspectives at the digitalization question.

Dropbox with presentations for Digitalization and bioeconomy

Woman at a table talking. Other peopel in background. Photo. Woman at a table gesturing. Other peopel in background. Photo. Woman at a black table. Other peopel in background. Photo.

WORKSHOP FOR CREATING THE ROADMAP

During the afternoon the almost 50 participants were divided into five groups. Each group had some time to discuss five focus areas: competence, safety, technology, organization and infrastructure. A discussion leader kept the discussions on track and took notes for each focus area, so the participants could fully engage in the discussions.

In the workshop all participants had the chance to discuss and affect the way the digitalization process will take. We got the opportunity to gather valuable opinions and get new aspects of the digitalization process in the bioeconomy. This will be the basis for the roadmap for the coming minister meeting in Haparanda this summer when our Nordic ministers will meet and decide on joint way forward to meet the huge opportunities and challenges in a future, digital bioeconomy.

It seems the participants were very pleased after the seminar which was loaded with knowledge, power and ambition. We hope it will serve as a big and positive step in digitalization of the bioeconomy.

Hall filled with people sitting at round tables. Photo.

Man sitting with his back agains the camera looking at papers. Photo.

Close up on hands holding a compile of papers. Photo.

Group of people sitting at a conference talble. Photo.

Erick Thürmer. Portrait.
Erick Thürmer.

Group of people sitting at a black conference table. Photo.

Two group of people at tables. Photo.

Three women sitting at a table gesturing. Photo.

 

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Climate change – an important issue for reindeer husbandry

Climate change is a challenge in many ways, and that applies to reindeer husbandry too. NKJ co-organized a seminar about future needs for research in the sector.

 

Reindeer husbandry Boy and reindeer in winter landscape. Illustration.Nordregio has written a report, Reindeer Husbandry in Sapmi (PDF), commissioned by NKJ. The report is a summary of the relevant research done the last ten years. It was presented at, and formed a basis for, a seminar about reindeer husbandry research in Tromsø, Norway, before Christmas.

Overview

The purpose of the seminar was to get a good overview of the problems and possibilities the reindeer husbandry is facing in the future.

– We want to develop the reindeer husbandry moving towards future, says Sunna Marie Pentha, adviser at the Norwegian Agricultural and food department.

Environmental issues

Anna Berlina, Nordregio, initiated the seminar with presenting the report to the participants. Ethel Seljevold, Fylkesmannen, Troms, talked about the opportunities there are in reindeer husbandry, and was followed by Carlos das Neves and Torill Mørch, Norwegian Veterinary Institute, who talked about the challenges the sector approaches when it comes to animal health.

But the most important and urgent issue to discuss might be the climate change, which changes the terms of reindeer husbandry. The warming up of the atmosphere makes the snow come later. That makes it harder for animal owners to gather their herd and transportations become difficult because the snowmobile can’t be used. It also interacts with the movements of the herd because lakes and other waters doesn’t freeze when it usually does. The possible effects of climate change on pastures was summarized by Kari Anne Bråthen, University of Tromsø.

Technical development

Rune Storvold, NORUT, och Erlend Vinje, NIBIO, gave some insight in the new opportunities technology brings to reindeer husbandry.

– The last four or five years, more and more animal owners use drones to handle their reindeers, says Sunna Marie Pentha.

The second day of the seminar was all about the future research needs in the sector. Marit Meløy from the Norwegian Saami Parliament initiated the discussions, and then the participants had discussions in smaller groups to pinpoint the needs and give their suggestions.

– The workshops gave some really useful concrete suggestions for further research, says Sunna Marie Pentha.

– NKJ can be important for the future reindeer husbandry because of the contacts you have, and the funding you can give, she says.