Scandinavian Agriculture: The Case of Norway

The Kingdom of Norway is a midsized northern European country bordering the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. A part of Scandinavia, Norway is a highly developed nation and renowned for its humanitarian work worldwide. Norway has a total territory of almost 324.000 square kilometers, which is somewhat larger than the state of New Mexico. Geographically, Norway has a long north-south coastline along the north Atlantic as well as numerous islands throughout the region, while inland it is dominated by mountains and arctic tundra. Norway has a total population of almost 5.3 million citizens, more than 80% of which live in a major city or urban setting. For instance, Oslo, the Norwegian capital, has a population of approximately 1 million. Currently, Norway’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) is of US$360 billion and its national economy has experienced positive economic growth in recent years. Norway’s national economy is divided into 2% agriculture, 35% manufacturing, and 63% services. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes about 3% of the national territory, while another 28% is forested. Likewise, Norway’s agricultural industry employs some 3% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 18% and services employ another 79%.

In terms of natural resources, Norway has petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, titanium, nickel, timber, and hydropower. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on petroleum & gas, aquaculture & food processing, shipbuilding & shipping, paper products, metals, chemicals, lumber, mining, and textiles. Meanwhile, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products barley, wheat, potatoes, pork, beef, veal, milk, and fish. In terms of trade, Norway’s main partners are the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, China, and the Netherlands, amongst others. Even though Norway is not a member of the European Union, the country does belong to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). This article explores the status of land distribution and cereal markets in Norway.

Scandinavian Agriculture: The Case of Norway

Throughout recent years, the average per capita protein intake of animal origin amongst the Norwegian population has been of approximately 65 grams daily. Meanwhile, cereals, roots, and tubers supply about 31% of the average food energy intake in Norway. Simultaneously, land use in Norway has evolved throughout the last half century. Back in 1961, permanent pastures and meadows in Norway covered 177.000 hectares, while arable land covered another 856.000 hectares and permanent crops accounted for merely 1.000 hectares. More recently, in 2014, permanent pastures and meadows still accounted for some 176.000 hectares, while arable land represented little over 800.000 hectares and permanent crops had increased to cover almost 5.000 hectares.

Lastly, the domestic cereals market in Norway has transformed substantially throughout the last several decades. In 1961, the country devoted almost 230.000 hectares of land to the production of cereals and produced some 637.000 metric tons annually. Meanwhile, in 2014, Norway devoted little over 284.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded more than 1.2 million metric tons.

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