Norway wants to increase the Norwegian cultivation of grain, fruit and vegetables in order to make the country more self-sufficient. This became clear when agricultural organizations and the government agreed on a new agricultural decision last week.

Negotiations between the growers' unions and the government started on the weekend of 25th of April and the deadline to come to an agreement was Thursday, but the parties had already reached an understanding on Thursday morning. Agreements were made easily. There were no requirements on the table, but negotiations were underway to amend agreements that already existed.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Olaug Bollestad: “The parties agree on renewed agreements to give growers and food production more certainty. Agriculture is still relatively unaffected economically by the corona pandemic, but food production is of such great social importance that it was important to reach an agreement as soon as possible. The agreement puts grain, fruit and vegetables cultivation first, but also contains agreements on climate and environment.”

The reason that grain, potatoes, fruit and vegetables are now given priority is to improve the economy and increase self-sufficiency as it is lower in this area than in meat production. The new agreement will apply from 1st of July and the prices of food products will also be adjusted.

Read the full article here (hortidaily.com – 8^th May 2020; originally published in nrk.no)

Image by David Mark from Pixabay