The 11th Circumpolar Agricultural Conference in Tórshavn,

Faroe Islands, September 5th to 7th 2023

The next triennial conference, the 11th Circumpolar Agricultural Conference, will be arranged by Búnaðarstovan – Agricultural Agency of the Faroe Islands – and will take place during the days of September 5th to 7th 2023 in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.

The conference venue will be located at the renowned Nordic House in Tórshavn (Norðurlandahúsið í Føroyum www.nlh.fo).

The conference will embrace 2 days of indoor meetings and a 1 day field excursion. The conference language will be English.

The main theme for the 11th Circumpolar Agricultural Conference (#CAC2023) will be held under this headline:

“Farming in the High North – Contributions to a sustainable local Bioeconomy and secure Food Systems.”

• Day #1 Arranged as a plenum session under the main theme.
• Day #2: Arranged as until four parallel sessions selected from these respective headlines:
  • Arable plants for the High North; potentials within plant breeding and the gain from Crop Wild Relatives.
  • Future farming options in the High North as a consequence of the predicted land releases due to climate change
  • Contributions from farming and affiliated economic activities to more resilient local communities and stronger local economy in the High North
  • Digitization as a motorway for wider market access for the products and services deriving from resources in the High North
  • Gender equality and demographic distribution in the High North region, prospects, challenges and remedies.
• Day # 3: A field excursion.

The reason for this rather wide theme for the 11th Circumpolar Agricultural Conference (CAC2023), but yet of so topical interest, has its foundation in e.g. the Nordic perspectives on the future, as described in the Vision 2030 Programme [a most sustainable and integrated region; i.e. green, competitive and socially sustainable], as well in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). No other sector, like Agriculture in its broadest sense, might interact with as many of these prioritised topics. The present geopolitical turmoil and the aftermaths of the pandemic have only underlined calls regarding the vulnerability of our modern supply chains, and on the need for e.g. rethinking the schemes for local food production. Prosperity for the citizens of the Arctic is a cornerstone for making the region attractive to the younger generations and thus being vibrant communities.

The predicted effects of climate change will probably over time reveal huge areas of both land and sea in the Arctic, where the citizens of the region might have their option to contribute to the FAO call on increased future global food production.

The theme is also meant to be a prolonged debate from the 10th. conference in 2019.

For more information, please visit the CAA homepage https://circumpolaragriculture.com/ as well as the CAA’s Facebook group Circumpolar Agricultural Association .

Best regards from the steering committee, Tróndur G. Leivsson, President of the Circumpolar Agricultural Association