The Ocean Decade – and the important questions

The aims of the BioShare project has been to develop knowledge and analytical understanding necessary to assess, organise and manage the sharing of benefits from the utilization of natural resources, and provide policy recommendations accordingly. We especially focused on aquaculture and wind energy, but also bioprospecting and the strong growing interest in the ocean, comparing…

Read More

We have now set the timetable for the BluePlaces project

Nidelven, Trondheim

On 19 and 20 March, we gathered project partners and advisers for the kickoff of BluePlaces at Scandic Nidelven in Trondheim. During two exciting days, we discussed project structure, content, and how we will work going forward. With blue skies and proximity to the sea, it was a fitting and good start to the project.…

Read More

Citizens’ recommendations on how to improve animal welfare

Bonde med sauene sine

The debate on animal welfare in Norway appears polarized and at times very loud. Nevertheless, most of us are listeners to this debate rather than participants. What do regular Norwegian citizens –– really think about animal welfare? What would have happened if Norwegian citizens had been well informed about animal welfare and Norwegian food production,…

Read More

International Women’s Day on 8th March 2024

International Women's Day on 8th March 2024

Achieving gender equality and women’s well-being in all aspects of life is more crucial than ever if we want to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet. Kudos to all the women in our Living Labs who are breaking new ground, developing innovations and co-learning through mutual support. They are sowing the seeds for future…

Read More

Blame the System, Not the Farmers

Uten bønder blir butikkene tomme for varer

The following material is republished with the permission of ARC2020 and was originally published on ARC2020’s website on February 1, 2024. Over the past couple of months, many angry farmers have taken tractors to the streets of major cities in protest. At first glance, the protests appear to have very little in common. In France…

Read More

Citizens’ engagement is essential for an efficient green transition

Written by Maria Eklöf, Head of Communications, Nordic Energy Research. Dr Kristian Borch, who is Senior Researcher at Ruralis – Norwegian institute for Rural and Regional Research, and Associate Professor at Aalborg University, Department of Sustainable Energy Planning, will hold a session on citizen involvement in renewable energy. Nordic Energy Research asked him to elaborate on this important…

Read More

To succeed in restructuring in the districts, what does gender have to say?

Kvinnebonde med høner

To succeed in restructuring in the districts, what does gender have to say? Contact persons Madeleine Gustavsson Senior Researcher madeleine.gustavsson@ruralis.no Maja Farstad Senior Researcher maja.farstad@ruralis.no Svein Frisvoll Director svein.frisvoll@ruralis.no Research areas AquacultureBioeconomyBusiness DevelopmentClimate Gender, gender equality and integrationLocal communities Dyrevelferd CompetenceGender and gender equalityGender, gender equality and integrationInnovation Farmers FarmersHES (Health, Environment and Safety) FarmersFood…

Read More

National Day in the Shadow of Fosen

Vindpark på Fosen Foto: Henrikke Sæthre Ellingsen

By Henrikke Sæthre Ellingsen, NTNU/Ruralis For the second year in a row, the national day took place under the shadow of the Fosen judgment –the Sami reindeer herders on the Fovsen-Njaarke/Fosen peninsula are still fighting against the wind power plant that was completed there in 2019. The wind power plant, which is owned by Fosen…

Read More

Comment: Access to feed is also food security

Farmer provides concentrate for cows

The use of new feed ingredients can solve this challenge, but at the same time the feed competition with livestock in agriculture might increase. Nevertheless, more use of Norwegian-based feed ingredients can strengthen food security.  A report from Nofima shows that in 2020, 8 per cent of the volume of feed used for salmon feed…

Read More

Better drying techniques can reduce food waste

dried-chile-maize-nepal

In the two Asian mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, large parts of the population live outside cities, and agriculture is the most important source of income for most. A common problem is that large parts of the crops are lost after harvest, because the farmers lack the facilities and technology to store and preserve…

Read More

The new oil

Roan Vindpark

News from the Bioshare-project: Anne Margrete Brigham (Ruralis) and Jonathon Moses’ (NTNU) article from the Norwegian Journal of Political Science has been translated into English on the blog https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/05/17/norway-the-once-and-future-georgist-kingdom/ and was released on Norway’s constitution day, 17th of May celebrating both the National day and how Norway has succeeded in developing a welfare state combining…

Read More

The Grain, the War and our Food Security

War breeds food shortages, food shortages breed war. But it’s more complicated than that. Today, the war in Ukraine is triggering what could be the third and worst global food crisis since World War II. This has brought the debate on grain storage to the top of the political agenda.  The first food and raw…

Read More

Artificial meat as a mirror of society

Such products, it is said, will be able to provide future consumers with affordable and satisfactory alternatives to ‘conventional’ meat and alleviate concerns about the meat’s consequences for animal welfare or climate change.  In a decade, the production price of an artificial burger has dropped from €250,000 to around 10. A pilot plant and test…

Read More

Ruralis research on gender and equity in EU project

Kvinnelig fisker sjekker krabbeteiner

EmpowerUs has a framework of NOK 60 million over three years, and it will take place in coastal communities in six different countries. The project is led by Nordland Research, with Ruralis as a co-collaborator with responsibilities across several parts of the project. The aim of EmpowerUs is to develop tools and methods so that…

Read More

Now you can test whether new technology is ready to be used

Agrirobot Thorvald

By Bjørg Bruset The new balanced readiness level assessment (BRLa) calculator will help developers, equipment dealers, incubators and consultants assess a product’s technological, market, legal, societal and organizational maturity. The readiness calculator can be used for free by anyone. Results can be cited as from the “Ruralis readiness calculator”. The calculator has been developed for…

Read More