On Friday, the government announced that, for the first time in 20 years, emergency storage for grain will be established in Norway. – There has been a period from 2003 to today where nothing has happened. Now we start, says Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum (Sp). The Minister of Finance says that the warehouses will be filled with a mixture of Norwegian and imported grain. He believes that one must be aware of purchases if many countries are hoarding grain at the same time. – If you see a big jump right now, you can wait a bit. Vedum points out that you can buy in imported grain in the spring rather than the autumn, when the pressure is not so high. Concerned for poor countries Norway is not alone in establishing contingency stores for grain. – Norway is in a privileged position compared to the rest of the world, when we can think long-term and fill emergency stocks with grain. We see a trend where several rich countries are doing the same, says Secretary General of Unicef Norway, Maria Greenberg Bergheim. Secretary General of Unicef Norway, Maria Greenberg Bergheim. They fear that this will lead to less grain in circulation, that grain prices will rise and that it will affect poor countries. – For the world’s children, the risk of poverty and hunger will increase in line with this trend. Food preparedness is about security, and as it is today, we are not on track to meet the goal of eradicating hunger by 2030, says Bergheim. Storting representative Lene Westgaard-Halle (H) tells news that increased grain prices particularly affect poor countries that depend on grain imports. – Therefore, we must be careful about increasing the import of foreign grain to fill our own stocks, which can drive up grain prices globally, she says. I believe that poor countries benefit from this. Managing director of AgriAnalyse, Christian Smedshaug, who is also an SP politician and former state secretary in the Støre government, does not believe that poor countries will be affected by Norway and other rich countries establishing contingency stocks for grain. Managing director of AgriAnalyse, Christian Smedshaug. Photo: AgriAnalyse – On the contrary, I believe that poor countries will benefit from this. Grain stocks can help stabilize grain prices. If we import grain when prices are average or low, we can use the grain stocks when prices are high. Smedshaug goes on to say that this can avoid the high price spikes that occur when many countries compete to buy grain. Bjørn Ivar Kruke is professor of social security at the University of Stavanger. Nor does he believe that poor countries are affected by countries such as Norway establishing emergency storage for grain. He believes that it is high time that the government gets started on this. – It is absolutely necessary for food security in Norway. We are not self-sufficient, and cannot rely on the international logistics for grain working at all times, he says. – Not enough Nevertheless, Kruke believes that the measures the government is planning do not respond well enough to the need for food security in Norway. Professor of social security at the University of Stavanger, Bjørn Ivar Kruke. Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl / news – Three months of storage is not enough. We should at least have emergency stocks for six months’ consumption of grain. We can afford that. Preparedness costs money, but we only get the preparedness we are willing to pay for, he says. Smedshaug also believes that three months is too little. – We believe that six months of storage is necessary. It is also in line with the Directorate of Agriculture’s recommendations from last year, he says. He points out that, until 1995, Norway had emergency stocks of grain which ensured 12 months’ consumption. From 1995 to 2003, when the emergency stocks were discontinued, we had grain stocks that ensured 6 months’ consumption. – This is also a fairly long-term process. In today’s unpredictable world, this should go much faster than the government plans, says Smedshaug. Vedum says that the government will start with three months. He says that it may be appropriate to increase the stocks to six months. – We will see the experience and the price of it. It may well be that it will be built on for up to six months.
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Unicef worried about poor countries when rich countries establish contingency stocks for grain – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
