Publications
NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.
2022
Abstract
The worldwide decline in bees and other pollinating insects is a threat to biodiversity and food security, and urgent action must be taken to stop and then reverse this decline. An established cause of the insect decline is the use of harmful pesticides in agriculture. This case study focuses on the use of pesticides in Norwegian apple production and considers who among farmers, consumers and public authorities is most responsible for protecting bees against harmful pesticides. The extent to which these three different groups consider themselves responsible and the degree to which they are trusted by each of the other groups are also studied. This empirical study involves both qualitative interviews with Norwegian apple farmers, consumers and public authorities and survey data from consumers and farmers. The results show that consumers consider public authorities and farmers equally responsible for protecting bees, while farmers are inclined to consider themselves more responsible. Farmers, consumers and public authorities do not consider consumers significantly responsible for protecting bees, and consumers have a high level of trust in both farmers and public authorities regarding this matter. This study also finds that a low level of consumer trust in farmers or public authorities increases consumers’ propensity to purchase organic food, suggesting that those who do not trust that enough action is adopted to protect the environment take on more individual responsibility. This paper adds to the existing literature concerning the allocation of responsibility for environmental outcomes, with empirical evidence focusing specifically on pesticides and bees.
Abstract
No abstract has been registered
Abstract
The book discusses scientific, technical, and sociological aspects of sustainable agricultural value chains, focusing on coffee and tea production. The book advocates a value-chain strategy and highlights the importance of tracking the effects of climate change. Increasing the amount of value-added products via irrigation is critical to combating climate change and achieving sustainable development. Furthermore, blockchain technology has the potential to transform agricultural business models and supply chain networks.
Authors
Gry Alfredsen Christian Brischke Richard Acquah Tolgay Akkurt Per Otto Flæte Eva Frühwald Hansson Geir Wæhler Gustavsen Hasan Hosseini Targo Kalamees Jaan Kers Villu Kukk Roja Modaresi Jonas Niklewski Anna Sandak Sandak Jakub Philip van NiekerkAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Gry Alfredsen Lone Ross Atle Wehn Hegnes Mari Sand Austigard Johan Mattsson Nanna Bjerregaard Anatoly Sinitsyn Vibeke Vandrup Martens Anne Cathrine FlyenAbstract
No abstract has been registered
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No abstract has been registered
2021
Authors
Geir Wæhler Gustavsen Helge Berglann Elisabeth Jenssen Signe Kårstad Divina Gracia P. RodriguezAbstract
No abstract has been registered
Authors
Geir Wæhler Gustavsen Helge Berglann Elisabeth Jenssen Signe Kårstad Divina Gracia P. RodriguezAbstract
Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized as an important sustainable pathway for climate change adaptation and mitigation, for building more resilient cities, and for citizens’ health. Urban agriculture systems appear in many forms – both commercial and non-commercial. The value of the services derived from urban agriculture, e.g. enhanced food security, air quality, water regulation, and high level of biodiversity, is often difficult to quantify to inform policymakers and the general public in their decision making. We perform a contingent valuation survey regarding four different types of urban agriculture in Oslo. The citizens of Oslo are asked about their attitudes and willingness to pay for non-commercial and commercial urban agriculture. The non-commercial agriculture consists of urban community gardens for the citizens and urban gardens for work training, education and kindergartens. On the other hand, the commercial urban agriculture consists of aquaponics and vertical production. Results show that the citizens of Oslo are willing to increase their tax payments to contribute to further development of urban farming in Oslo. Keywords: Willingness to pay; community garden; aquaponics; vertical farming; Oslo
Abstract
Sustainability learning is gaining popularity as an important field within sustainability research, where farm sustainability can be understood as a learning process. In this study, we seek to reveal the sustainability learning process of farmers, utilizing a framework distinguishing contextual factors (where? and when?), knowledge (what?), motivation (why?), and process (how?). The article presents a participatory inquiry mixed-methods approach, utilizing results from sustainability assessments on five farms with the SMART-farm tool as a unifying starting point for further discussions on sustainability learning in farmers' interviews and stakeholder workshops. Empirically the study is set in the horticultural production in Arctic Norway, where few studies on sustainability have been undertaken. The study shows how both the complexity of the concept of farm sustainability and contextual factors influence the sustainability learning process, for instance by giving rise to a vast number of conflicting issues while working toward farm sustainability. The sustainability learning process is found to be predominantly a social learning process. The theoretic contribution of the study lies in its novel framework that can be used to reveal important aspects of the sustainability learning process, as well as to contribute to the literature on how to proceed from sustainability assessments to implementation. A key finding from the study is that farmers will require continuous assistance in their processes toward farm sustainability, but for this to be possible, knowledge, sources of knowledge, and learning platforms for holistic sustainability need to be established.
Abstract
Agroforestry can be defined as sustainable and multifunctional land-use systems where trees are managed together with agricultural crops or livestock on the same piece of land. This definition fits with how the outfield has been managed in generations in Norway. The Norwegian outfields are a multifunctional land-use system. In the northern periphery area, agroforestry has a long history with woodland grazing, reindeer husbandry and gathering of different non-wood forest resources as herbs, mushrooms, and berries. Traditional agroforestry has gradually disappeared during the 20th century with the intensification of agriculture and forestry. Currently agroforestry systems are gaining new interest, not only from farmers but also from politicians, as this practice can possibly contribute to a more sustainable way of agricultural production. In the northern periphery area, the benefits of agroforestry practices can be manifold not only promoting traditional practices, but also novel systems with the use of new technology. In addition, agroforestry has environmental benefits as a method for conservation and enhancement of biodiversity, improved nutrient cycling, and water quality. Soil humus layer will also increase with several agroforestry systems leading to carbon sequestration. The Norwegian population of 5.3 mill populate an area of 323805 km2. The mainland of Norway is 323805 km2 while Svalbard and Jan Mayen represent 61022 and 377 km2, respectively. Number of persons per km2 are 14, however, as much as 82% of the Norwegian population inhabits cities/densely populated areas. These figures tell us that Norway have a large outfield with forests and mountains. The biggest owner of Norwegian outfield1 is the Norwegian state by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The state-owned enterprise Statskog SF is set to administer the property, that alone consist of about 23% of the total outfield-area of Norway. Almost 80% of the state-owned property is above the treeline and covers mountains and alpine grassland who are valuable grazing resources for reindeer herders and local farmers. Most of the forests are also used as grazing areas for local farmers and reindeer herders. The state-owned property in the southern Norway are managed as commons, where locals have rights in commons, typically this is right to graze, hunt and fish on the state ground. In the northern part of Norway, the grazing-rights are defined as user-rights and technically not rights in commons while the right to hunt, fish and gathering of berries and herbs etc. is an “all-mans-right”.