Sustainable food production is a necessity and Norway is working hard to do its share. Read more about sustainable agriculture and food production technology here.

Sustainable food production is a pressing concern. According to a UN report, in 2017, one in nine people in the world went to bed hungry, while one in three suffered from malnutrition. Meanwhile, the earth’s resources are limited and under increasing pressure. It is abundantly clear that the world needs efficient and sustainable food production systems. This calls for new food production technology, more efficient resource use, and responsible and sustainable value chains.Mobile technology for managing smallholder farmsRead more here

Norway is making strides in creating sustainable food production systems. The Government has launched the Food Nation Norway initiative (see below). Companies, meanwhile, are doing their part by developing innovative solutions ranging from freshness indicators for food packaging to agricultural robots.

Here are some of the most exciting sustainable food production solutions from Norway right now.

7Sense irrigation sensors.

Sustainable agriculture and food production technology

Sustainable food producers have an important role to play in achieving the targets of the Paris Agreement. For Norwegian producers, smart and efficient food production technology will be critical to reducing emissions. The country already has one of the world’s most modern and high-tech food production systems – with widespread, fast-paced digitalisation.

Land-based food production in Norway has nearly doubled since 1960. Labour input, meanwhile, is 35 per cent lower than in 2000 thanks to use of advanced food technology. Norwegian dairy farmers, for example, lead the field in using milking robots. Technology can help farmers to improve animal welfare and sustainable food production, while saving time and money. Moreover, the technological transformation is attracting more young people to agriculture.Closed-loop environmental system for greenhousesClick here

Norwegian innovators in food production are helping to modernise traditional agriculture. These include N2 Applied, whose on-farm system lets farmers produce fertiliser using locally sourced manure and renewable energy. Soil Steam International, meanwhile, has developed a machine that uses steam to clear soil of fungi, weeds, seeds and nematodes, without the use of pesticides. 7Sense , for its part, has developed irrigation sensors for reducing water loss.

Norwegian companies are also using their ingenuity to keep track of livestock. Nofence has created the world’s first virtual fencing system for grazing animals. Findmy, in turn, offers tracking collars that use GPS so farmers can monitor livestock on their smartphone.

Norwegian robots may well become a fixture on farms. Saga Robotics has developed Thorvald – an autonomous agricultural robot that can carry out a variety of tasks in the field. Adigo, meanwhile, has developed Asterix –an autonomous weeding robot that can reduce use of herbicides by 95 per cent.

Saga Robotics’ autonomous agricultural robots.

Marine technology for sustainable food production

Norway is known throughout the world for responsible and sustainable management of marine resources. The country’s extensive expertise is increasingly sought-after internationally and thus has potential for value creation in its own right. The public and private sectors and research community collaborate closely to develop innovative, sustainable solutions for use of marine resources – and, by extension, sustainable food production systems.App for monitoring fish welfare during delousingClick here

Nevertheless, more knowledge is needed to increase processing and achieve full utilisation of marine resources and raw materials from the seafood industry. Today, approximately 80 per cent of the fish exported by the Norwegian aquaculture industry is unprocessed. The residual raw materials from the industry should also be exploited – both for the sake of the environment and to boost value creation.

Efficient food production and resource use efficiency is about finding new ways to exploit resources fully. Rather than throwing out nutrients, input factors, minerals and metals, they should be reused and recycled.Artificial fishing bait from marine by-productsFind out more

Companies and researchers have been exercising their creativity in this area. The company Marealis is using prawn shells to produce the active ingredient Marealis RSPC, which controls blood pressure. Norilia, meanwhile, has drawn on expertise from the fish processing industry to produce a high-quality protein from residual raw materials from poultry.

Glitne land-based fish farm for halibut.

Arve Ullebø

Responsible and sustainable food consumption

There is tremendous public engagement in achieving more sustainable food production. This will require improved food transparency and traceability, and one of the tools to help to attain this is blockchain technology. The food industry can use blockchain technology to document the entire value chain, describing the journey of a food from when it is taken out of the soil or the sea until it ends up on a plate on the consumer’s table.Blockchain for authenticating a sustainable supply chainFind out more

Reducing food waste is also vital for creating sustainable food production. Norwegian companies are doing their share here as well. KeepIt Technologies has designed an indicator for food packaging that monitors temperature and shows the actual remaining shelf life. Startups TotalCtrl and Foodlist, meanwhile, have taken different approaches to solving the food waste problem, creating apps giving consumers, retailers and restaurants better control. All of these innovations in food technology can also help to improve food safety and food security, while boosting revenues.Weather and sales forecasting for reducing food waste at retail levelRead more here

TotalCtrl app to reduce food waste.

Food Nation Norway: sustainable food production

Food Nation Norway is a broad political framework for business development and value creation based on safe and healthy Norwegian food – and sustainable food production. The Government is challenging the food industry, organisations and individuals to commit themselves to an action plan that also focuses on good plant health, good animal and fish welfare, and documentable quality in all segments of the food chain. The vision of the Food Nation Norway initiative is to achieve by 2030 sustainable food production and use of food, sustainable agriculture, exceptional food and drink experiences, and reduction of food waste in accordance with national and international commitments, among other aims.