Climate Change Triggers Norwegian Government To Stockpile 30,000 Tons Of Grains

The Norwegian government signed an agreement which will begin storing grain as it cited the impact of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the European war as reasons for the significance of the deal. For this year, tons of grain are targeted to be stored by the government. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, Agriculture and Food Minister Geir Pollestad, and four private firms inked an agreement to store 30,000 tons of grain in 2024 and 2025.

Preparation For The Unthinkable

The enterprises will store the wheat, which will be owned by the Norwegian government, in facilities that are already in place all around the nation. This year, at least 15,000 tons will be stored by three of the companies. Businesses can choose where to keep the emergency grain and can invest in new facilities, but according to the government, they have to make the grain available to the state in case it becomes necessary.

According to Norway's ministry of agriculture and food, accumulating a food grain reserve is a means to be ready for the unthinkable, as it is an important part of strengthening national preparedness.

"There should be an extra level of security in the event of major disruptions in the international trade systems or failure of national production," Slagsvold Vedum said.

Increase Reserve

In the upcoming years, Norway intends to negotiate further stockpiling contracts in order to increase its reserve until 2029. The goal, according to Pollestad, is to store about 82,500 tons of grain by the end of the decade, which would provide the country's population with enough food to last three months in the event of a disaster, as reported by Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Norway's population is 5.6 million.

The Nordic country announced last year that it would restock grain at a cost of 63 million kroner ($6 million) annually.

Although Norway had been storing grain since the 1950s, it decided in 2003 that the sites were no longer needed and shut them down. Climate change has greatly threatened Europe. A recent assessment has cautioned that the region urgently needs more robust policies to address the risks posed by climate change.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) released a 32-page assessment last March, claiming that the bloc is ill-prepared to address the progressively serious threats that climate change presents. In his first-ever study on the dangers facing the continent that is warming up the fastest on the globe, the policy adviser issues a "catastrophic" warning.

Aside from the climate crisis, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is also a growing concern for Norway.

The country established a panel to assess the advantages and disadvantages of its emergency readiness measures, and the commission made the recommendation to stockpile food products. Situated approximately 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) from the North Pole in its Svalbard archipelago, the oil-rich nation that has aided Ukraine is also home to the Global Seed Vault.

Since 2008, nearly a million seed samples have been stored in the vault by gene banks and organizations worldwide as a backup collection in the event of natural or man-made disasters.

The construction costs were covered by the Norwegian government, while the running costs were covered by a global nonprofit.