Greenland as an agricultural country?
Researchers from AGRO have recently arrived home from a trip to Greenland, where they scouted the area for future possibilities for Greenland’s agriculture as well as new research projects.
Even though the word ”green” is part of Greenland’s name, it is most likely not agriculture that you would connect with the large and majestic island in the far north. Nevertheless, researchers from AGRO have been on a mission to Greenland with the aim of analysing and describing the potential for agriculture in Greenland based on forecasted climate changes up to 2050.
At the present, about 1100 ha are farmed in Greenland, in addition to which there are approximately 240,000 ha natural grazing lands. The major portion of the land is devoted to farming of sheep, of which there are about 20,000. There are also 79 suckler cows and a production of potatoes and rhubarbs, but by far and large all other agricultural products and adjuvants must be imported. A mere three percent of the food products in Greenland are home production.
Much of the agricultural land in Greenland is best suited for grazing - mostly by sheep. To protect the natural vegetation the sheep must be kept indoors six months of the year:
Rhubarbs thrive in Greenland:
The million dollar question is how climate change will affect agriculture in Greenland in the future and which possibilities they can pave the way for. Even though the ice is melting, that does not mean that new agricultural land will see the light of day. The land under the snow and ice is rock. However, a changed climate can improve growing conditions in the small area there already is.
- Climate change will provide Greenland with longer growing seasons and warmer weather. On the other hand, there will be longer periods with drought and more violent wind and rain compared to the present climate, explains senior researcher Troels Kristensen, who was one of the participants in the trip.
Even though the ice is melting that does not mean there will be significantly more agricultural land - just more rock and stone:
Can Greenland be self-sufficient?
Does all this mean that Greenland can become self-sufficient with regard to food? Or are there other ways to go? Researchers from AGRO and BIOS imagine two directions that agriculture in Greenland can follow to take advantage of the expected effects of climate change:
· Intensive agriculture for increased food self-sufficiency
· Integrated agriculture with a focus on tourism and local identity
In addition to this is a potential for hunting based on trophy hunting with a combination of wild and domestic populations of caribou and muskoxen.
The researchers will use the coming months to describe the details of these possibilities so that they can deliver a report to the Greenland authorities in November 2016 as agreed.
AGRO has much of the expertise
Aarhus University was awarded the task by two ministries under the Government of Greenland, namely the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Fisheries, Hunting & Agriculture. We got the task because we have lots of good forces to draw on:
The contact entry point with Greenland is section manager Mogens Greve, JORD. He has been active in Greenland for several years and can, among other things, contribute expertise in the area of soil mapping and classification. Section manager Jørgen E. Olesen, KLIMA, contributes climate expertise, senior researcher Troels Kristensen and research assistant Jesper Overgård Lehmann, SYSTEM, have insight and knowledge of the big picture with regard to animal production and the system-oriented approach to agriculture, including sustainability and marketing. Section manager Peter Aastrup from the Department of Bioscience is an expert in vegetation development, among other things, through many years of working in Greenland.
Head of Department Erik Steen Kristensen was also on the trip to Greenland that took place from 13 to17 June 2016. His focus was to get an overview of which possibilities for research collaboration there could be between AGRO and Greenland in the future. The task that the researchers are solving now can be the foot in the door that can glean more tasks related to Greenland agriculture. You will most likely read more about this in a future edition of AGRO Biweekly.
From left: Erik Steen Kristensen, Jørgen E. Olesen, Peter Aastrup, Mogens H. Greve and Troels Kristensen:
Much of the transportation in Greenland is by helicopter, which makes logistics expensive and difficult:
Eric the Red and his wife Tjodhilde settled in Greenland already in 986, so grazing animals are not a novelty in the beautiful green hills in south Greenland. Here is a reconstructed house from when Vikings called Greenland their home:
