The future of farming requires more crops adapted to Swedish growing conditions

As SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, joins Nordic Agro Summit as a partner, Associate Professor Cecilia Hammenhag highlights the need for profitability, greater crop diversity and research that equips Swedish agriculture for the future.

The future of agriculture is being shaped by several forces at once. Economic conditions, EU regulations, access to inputs and an increasingly variable climate are placing new demands on growers, researchers and market stakeholders alike. For Hammenhag, profitability for farmers across the entire country is a fundamental issue.

“There are several extremely important issues, but one of the most important is that farming must be profitable for farmers throughout the country,” she says.

A key part of this is developing crops and varieties that are well adapted to Sweden’s diverse growing conditions. This is an area closely connected to Cecilia Hammenhag’s research and one that will be highly significant for agriculture’s long-term development.

Regulations and climate are changing the landscape
Over the next five to ten years, Cecilia Hammenhag believes that EU regulations will continue to have a major impact on agriculture. This applies in particular to support schemes and to which products will be available for crop protection and weed control.

The price and availability of inputs will also be crucial to the profitability of farming. At the same time, climate change is becoming increasingly significant, bringing more variable and challenging growing conditions.

Greater diversity builds resilience
Hammenhag stresses that there are many innovative and forward-thinking forces within agriculture. At the same time, she hopes more people will challenge the established view of which crops can and should be grown in Sweden.

“We need greater crop diversity to create a more resilient farming system. For this to be possible, we must also develop crops that perform well under Swedish conditions and establish profitable value chains for them,” says Cecilia Hammenhag.

From promising crop to functioning market
Work with uncommon or entirely new crops has also shown how crucial the surrounding system is.

“Even a promising crop has to fit into an entire system, from cultivation and breeding to processing and demand,” she says.

When Cecilia Hammenhag meets visitors at Nordic Agro Summit, she hopes they will take away a broader perspective on plant breeding and innovation. The agriculture of the future is not only about improving the crops already being grown, but also about developing and introducing new alternatives.

There is considerable untapped potential in plant material from nature, gene banks and historic cultivation systems. However, for this potential to benefit agriculture, long-term research, modern plant-breeding methods and collaboration across the entire value chain are needed.