Posts by Odd Roger Langørgen
Farmers’ Protests in Central and Eastern Europe: Unpacking the Impact of Ukrainian Grain Flows
The 2023 to 2025 farmers’ protests across Central and Eastern Europe, sparked by the rerouting of Ukrainian grain after Russia’s invasion, drew significant attention both nationally and in the EU. Public debate largely revolved around three competing assumptions: That the protests lacked economic justification; That they were politically driven or manipulated, or That they undermined…
Read MoreHighlights from the Tanzania Workshop and Fieldwork
Date: 26th – 30th May 2025 Place: Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania. Workshop participants Project Team, government officials, and representatives from organisations working with or around refugee-hosting communities in Tanzania. Additionally, the workshop was also graced by the SUA Administration team, namely Dr Mabebe Ntumva, Head of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Community…
Read MoreStrengthening Solar Dryer Innovation Through International Student and Researcher Exchange
Work package 4 in the project is concerned with the technical development of the solar dryers and is led by Lund University. The technology developed in Solar Food is based on a prototype developed in a previous solar food project led by Lund University. The unique contribution of this solar dryer is that it uses…
Read MoreThe Coastal Horizon Europe Research and Innovation project EmpowerUs has come to an end!
The project has focused on supporting six “Transition Coastal Labs” in Burgas (Bulgaria), Åland (Finland), Eastern Limassol (Cyprus), Connemara and the Aran Islands (Ireland), Træna (Norway) and Cap de Creus (Spain). Together with these local communities, research communities and local organisations have co- developed and implemented pilot projects that have sought to redirect the Blue…
Read MoreReport from Iceland, Karbonmat
They are looking forward to presenting the findings from Karbonmat at the next NBM conference in Toulouse in 2026. 👏
Read MoreSolarFood Kicks Off in Nepal – Aiming to Empower Women in the Himalayan Region
SolarFood aims to develop business models for solar-dried fruit initiatives in Bhutan and Nepal. These countries experience significant post-harvest losses due to limited food preservation techniques and inadequate storage infrastructure. Solar drying is a good option. Small-scale farmers already use solar drying to preserve food but traditional methods – which involve drying crops directly in…
Read MoreKarbonmat on fieldwork in Belgium and the Netherlands
Carbon sequestration is an important topic at the EU level and three new rules have been recently adopted that the team is studying now to investigate the impact of these rules on carbon farming projects. The three rules include the Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience, the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, and…
Read MoreThe Sámi National Day, February 6.
There are many things to celebrate on the Sámi National Day. Many young, but also adults want to take back their Sàmi identity. There is an interest for the endangered Southern Sámi language, and we see an a more active presence of people with different Sámi backgrounds, across the society. At the same time, racism…
Read MoreAnimal collisions are a significant and growing problem
Collisions with animals are a significant and growing problem globally, with hundreds of millions of animals being hit annually. In Norway, this problem is also very widespread, with up to 20,000 animals registered as being hit on Norwegian roads and railway lines every single year. It is important to point out that only a few…
Read MoreEasier community planning for small municipalities – new paths to better development
The project, which was based on co-creation together with the participating municipalities, concludes that increased planning awareness and better clarification of roles are the keys to success. The project has developed resources such as enkelplanlegging.no – a website that aims to ease the planning process – to support small municipalities in their planning work. The…
Read MoreGeography helps determine which education you take
By Alexander Zahl-Thanem The further away from the big cities you grow up, the lower the probability of completing education at university and college level. This is clear from a research article I wrote in connection with my own doctoral thesis, which was recently published in the European Sociological Review journal. The aim of the…
Read MoreOne in three farmers wants climate advice
In 2021, on the initiative of the parties in the annual negotiations in agriculture, the Norwegian Agricultural Advisory Service (NLR) and Tine, the big milk cooperative, launched an offer of climate advice aimed at farmers. Under the scheme, farmers can apply for a grant to receive climate advice, and then, together with trained climate advisor,…
Read MoreAgriculture is becoming increasingly complex: Improved advice can be part of the solution
Agriculture faces a number of challenges, both nationally and globally. Farmers must deal with the impact of climate change, reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, produce more feed and food, and adopt new technology and knowledge. At the same time, farmers must have reasonable financial benefits from their work. This problem was the starting point…
Read MoreGround rent: Exporting a good principle?
This text expresses the writer’s personal views. We live in a time with strong pressures on both nature and democracy. When looking for strategies to meet these, it is possible to see these issues interlinked. A proposal including the principle of the ancient Norwegian general right of access for recreational purposes in the forests, mountains,…
Read MoreDo we need people along the coast – and why should young people want to stay or come back?
Identity, connection, and practical knowledge are some keywords. Using the body, head, and hands in one’s own landscape, strenghten a sense of belonging, ownership and mastery – also in terms of self sustenance– has significance on many levels. But today few children and young people are included in local, primary business processes and value chains.…
Read MoreCan ‘ordinary’ people contribute to solving energy crises?
COPPER stands for ‘Creating, Optimizing and Planning Positive Energy Districts’ and is part-financed by the European Commission and the Norwegian Research Council. In the age of the green transition, COPPER looks at an exciting opportunity: how local energy communities can contribute to solving the global energy crisis. Through research, innovation, and strategic collaboration, new solutions…
Read MoreNatalia Mamonova – senior researcher at RURALIS – has given an interview to the Ukrainian journal “Commons” about her project on “Food security, food sovereignty and collective action during the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian and global perspectives”.
The text of the interview is available at this link: https://commons.com.ua/en/zemelna-reforma-v-ukrayini-pid-chas-vijni/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2yKYgQkcI1Y8wdWlmaOBfFmW1q3N0EB-TYX-fIZBiG_txA6MoszZCgAKI_aem_AZIjP6n8amcG6gjIBKI2Vp7OC2E8cGKfPCxdpji1intB0q_H_Py-ekKiqClKJ8HacVO3xV5BAf2kHLL2FUvn-pHZ
Read MoreGreenland and its growing tourism – how can it be sustainable?
Professor Gestur Hovgaard from Ilisimatusarfik opened the meeting by presenting some ongoing research collaborations in the field of tourism and work in progress. Hovgaard is currently leading a proposal on sustainable tourism that will be submitted together with several other partners including Ruralis to the highly competitive NordForsk program on sustainable Arctic. He emphasized a…
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