UK-Finland Sustainability Knowledge Exchange 19-21 October 2020

1. 1
Global Food Security from the Finnish
perspective: challenges and possible
solutions
19.10.2020
Theme 1: International R&I cooperation for Global Food Security
Jarkko Niemi
Research Professor
Natural Resources institute Finland (Luke)
jarkko.niemi@luke.fi

2. 2
What is food security?
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their
dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
”People don’t eat in the long run. They eat every day.”

3. 3
Challenges related to food security
• Almost 690 million people (in 2019) were undernourished and even
more suffered from silent hunger (FAO/IFAD/UN)
• COVID19 is exacerbating food insecurity by some 83-132 million
• About 600 million people in the world fall ill each year after eating
contaminated food (WHO)
• Food (in)security Poverty and socio-economic status
• Population growth and climate challenges

4. 4
Some solutions to enhance food security
19.10.2020
• Improving the productivity and competitiveness of the food system
• Enhancing technical and intellectual capacity
• Improving robustness and capacity of food system to face shocks
• Strengthening the resilience of local livelihoods and diversifying income
• Creating an enabling policy and market environment that facilitates
environmentally, ethically, economically and socially sustainable, safe
and healthy food choices and food value chains.
• Reducing food waste

5. 5
Luke as a research organisation
&
examples on Luke’s international R&I work

6. 6
Luke in brief
CO2
N2O
Climate
smart
carbon cycle
CH4
Adaptive and
resilient
bioeconomy
Competent
personnel and
motivating
organisation
Data-driven
solutions Cross-
sectoral and
interdisciplinary
collaboration
Modern
research
platforms
MISSION
Through
research,
we create
VALUE AND
SOLUTIONS
for our customers by
solving local and global
challenges
VISION
A sustainable future
and well-being from
RENEWABLE
NATURAL
RESOURCES
Circular
bioeconomy
Profitable and
responsible
primary
production
125 M€
Turnover
52 M€
External funding
73 M€
Budget funding
25Locations in Finland
HQ in Helsinki
Present in 12 campuses with
universities, research institutes and
polytechnics
1288Employees
46 research professors
622 researchers
We are one of the four Statistical
Authorities in Finland.

7. 7
Innovative food system programme
19.10.2020
1. Genomics and breeding
• Estimation of breeding values, genomic selection, gene mapping, reproduction
technologies
2. Sustainable and competitive plant production
• Plant health, IPM, soil ecology , sustainable intensification of agricultural systems
3. Sustainable and competitive animal production
• Animal nutrition, feed composition, microbiome (rumen), milk production chain
4. Value-added food & aquabiomass products

8. 8
BioSociety - responding to societal challenges
Blue bioeconomy programme
19.10.2020
1. Bioeconomy markets and business
2. Sustainability and wellbeing in bioeconomy
3. Bioeconomy policies
4. Wildlife in bioeconomy
1. Genomics and breeding
2. Blue production
3. Sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems
4. Value-added food and aquabiomass products

9. 124 EU-funded projects in 2019

10. 10
FoodAfrica – 6 countries & 3 themes
22.10.202
0
• Trained almost 20,000 farmers in sustainable farming and
influence food security of over 300,000 people
• How to reduce the risk of aflatoxin in maize by 80%
• How to increase milk yield and profit by cross-breeding
and effective and climate-friendly farming methods
• More yield & better nutritional value by improving the soil
• Local foods to improve the nutrition of mothers & children
 Research can create permanent, sustainable solutions
 Research should solve problems holistically

11. 11
Two recently started H2020 projects in Africa
• HealthyFoodAfrica aims to improve nutrition in ten African cities by
strengthening the diversity, sustainability, resilience and connectivity
of food systems.
• SustInAfrica project aims to empower smallholder farmers and other
actors to intensify food production and deliver ecosystem services in a
sustainable, self-sufficient and resilient manner
Projects are funded by EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under
Grant Agreements 862740​ (HealthyFoodAfrica) and 861924 (SustInAfrica).

12. 12
An example of UK-FI collaboration
• PROHEALTH (Sustainable intensive pig and poultry farming) studied
ways to improve the control of production diseases in pigs and poultry
 Preventive measures were studied and risk factors for diseases and
poor yield were identified
 We estimated that enhanced hygiene in the pig sector can benefit
around €40M per year for Finland and around €250 for the UK
 Enhanced housing and management can reduce antibiotics use
 Consumers prefer proactive control of diseases, food safety & welfare

13. 13
International collaboration to improve value chains’
sustainability & efficiency in numerous projects
19.10.2020
• ScenoProt looks at novel protein sources for food security
• Several European projects on microbiome applications
• UNISECO strengthens incentives for agro-ecological farming approaches
• LEX4BIO provides information for using & producing recycled fertilizers
• ClearFarm uses precision technology to enhance dairy & pig production
• Projects on organic or low-input (livestock) farming
• VALUMICS promotes e.g. the resilience, fairness, efficiency of food chains
• Several climate-relevant projects (e.g. JPI FACCE, ERA-NETs, H2020)
etc. … etc. ….

14. 14
Suggestions for further work

15. © Luonnonvarakeskus
Profitable and
responsible
primary production
Strategic objective:
Profitable and
responsible
primary production
15 19.10.2020
Transition of
production and
consumption
Strategic focus areas
Efficient and customized
primary production
systems
Added value from new
and under-utilized raw
materials

16. 16 22.10.2020
Luke’s strategy
CO2
N2O
Climate
smart
carbon cycle
CH4
Adaptive and
resilient
bioeconomy
Competent
personnel and
motivating
organisation
Data-driven
solutions Cross-
sectoral and
interdisciplinary
collaboration
Modern
research
platforms
MISSION
Through
research,
we create
VALUE AND
SOLUTIONS
for our customers by
solving local and global
challenges
VISION
A sustainable future
and well-being from
RENEWABLE
NATURAL
RESOURCES
Circular
bioeconomy
Profitable and
responsible
primary
production

17. 17
A few ideas for collaboration
• Luke has an interest towards food security issues at large
• Transition of production and consumption. For instance, if organic or animal-friendly
production becomes the mainstream, it can have implications to the food supply.
• New production methods (e.g. precision farming) and breeding to promote e.g. the
welfare and health of animals and to mitigate environmental impacts of production.
• Demand-driven primary production chain, e.g. novel protein crops/sources, novel
production methods, value-based business concepts, their acceptability and efficacy.
• Climate-relevant research, e.g. on soil carbon sequestration, carbon-neutrality (especially
livestock) and reduction of emissions. Agronomic and environmental considerations, and
also socio-economic aspects of climate actions – How they can be turned into value?
• How to close nutrient loops and circulate nutrients (agriculture, livestock, greenhouses)
• Peatland in agricultural use
• Holistic approach to food system