ARCTICOATS

Overcoming the obstacles

We recognised that the main obstacle for oat cultivation in all of these areas was the lack of optimal cultivars that would produce good quality yield and would withstand the harsh conditions. We also detected that there is need the increase awareness on how oat should be cultivated and we made a survey for local farmers and oat producers in order to determine what traits they require from oat cultivars and what it would take for them to start oat production.

Through several online and one in-person meeting our consortium was able to form a solid project plan had three spearheads:

1) increasing the needed traits to breed better adapted cultivars for NPA areas,
2) testing suitable breeding and cultivar material in NPA areas and
3) introducing oat cultivation and oat networks for local SMEs.

Relaunching the cereal production in NPA areas

There was a vicious cycle regarding the cereal production in Northern periphery areas such as Iceland, Northern parts of Scandinavia and Ireland. Since there has been no suitable cultivars, the farmers have not produced cereals and no cereal food industry has been developed and knowledge for cultivation is lost or has never even been accumulated.

Furthermore, since there has been no market for cereals, there has been no market and no reason for the development of cultivars by plant breeding companies. Our preparatory project offers a solution for this and has now submitted a proposal named OatFrontiers for the 3rd NPA call.

Moving towards a positive cycle

With the help of project funding the small plant breeders could  get the tools and support needed to start developing suitable cultivars, the local research partners could start testing cultivar candidates and spread information about oat cultivation and use for the local SMEs.

This could create a positive cycle that could lead to a development of grain industry in these areas offering new jobs and resilience to the society through climate adaptation.

This preparatory project paved the way for the Main project OatFrontiers approved in the 3rd Call for projects.

Photo from the Agricultural university of Iceland https://www.lbhi.is/component/content/article/heimskauta-hafrar?catid=12&Itemid=101