The 10th Circumpolar Agriculture Conference will take place in Rovaniemi 13 – 15 March 2019. The conference will address local agriculture and bioeconomy, northern local breeds, reindeer herding, and the effects of climate change on agriculture. The topics also include Arctic foods and natural products, food quality, food security, business opportunities and sustainability.
The Circumpolar Agriculture Conference will address what agriculture means in different parts of the Arctic region, and discuss its significance, challenges and opportunities. The conference will highlight new thinking and local solutions.
– In recent years, local foods, natural products and small-scale production have been on a rising trend worldwide. We have seen this also in Finland, even though small-scale agriculture and related product development is still marginal. In this conference, we want to emphasize the potentials of local small-scale production, specialization and the natural products sector in the Arctic by giving voice to both research and practical examples, says the Conference Chair Päivi Soppela.
The conference program has just been published at www.ulapland.fi/cac2019. The Research Director Mikko Peltonen from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will give the opening speech. On the first day, keynote speaker David Natcher will explain how agricultural technology has been applied in the northernmost regions of Canada. On the second day, Margret Geirsdottir from Iceland will tell how a research institute can support product research and development in companies. Lena Maria Nilsson will highlight the views of indigenous peoples and present examples of food security and its outlook in northern Sweden.
The Circumpolar Agriculture Conference is one of the events organized during the Finnish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The organisation behind this triennial research conference is the Circumpolar Agricultural Association, which is currently chaired by Finland. The local organiser is the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland in cooperation with Natural Resources Institute Finland and several local institutions. About 150 participants from all over the Arctic are expected to attend the event.
Change 4.3.2019: The opening speech will be given by Mikko Peltonen, not the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä.
For more information:
Event website: www.ulapland.fi/cac2019
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2069668989966001/
#PolarAgri
Päivi Soppela
Docent, Senior Scientist/ Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Chair / Circumpolar Agricultural Association
Tel. +358 40 013 8805, paivi.soppela(at)ulapland.fi
Paula Tulppo
Conference Secretary / Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Tel. +358 40 484 4379, paula.tulppo(at)ulapland.fi
LaY/AK/JW&PS