The nature of our changing climate and extreme weather events is imposing an increasing risk for agriculture and food security. This will also affect Norway to an increasing extent, as e.g. demonstrated by the substantial yield losses in key crops during the 2018 summer drought.
One of the main aims of the agricultural node within Climate Futures is to co-produce seasonal forecasts with our user partners from the private and public sector. Their introduction into climate-sensitive decision-making processes within the sector could potentially serve as a tool to reduce climate-induced risks for various stakeholders within Norwegian agriculture.
Manuel Hempel, who is working as a PhD-candidate at NORCE, is investigating the co-production of seasonal forecasts and how their introduction and use could affect the overall Norwegian agricultural system on an individual, relational and institutional level.
With the support of Gartnerhallen, he recently conducted a field trip to Eastern Norway to interview local producers and get first-hand impressions of their climate-related challenges. This led him to commercial potato, grains and vegetable producers in the Kongsvinger region. The direct conversations with
local producers shed a light on crop-specific climate challenges, the potential use of seasonal forecasts and future co-production opportunities. These insights from potential end-users of agricultural climate services will serve as valuable input within the co-production process of seasonal forecasts.
The consortium has initially selected potato-, grain-, fruit-, grass- and vegetable- production as study cases, and we are looking forward to future field-trips and fruitful conversations with local farmers from all across the country.
