It is well known that great progress has been made in cereal cultivation in Iceland due to the initiative of farmers and progress in cultivation. Cultivation experiments and grain breeding of the Agricultural University of Iceland and its predecessors are very important here. Icelandic grain has become important in feeding and it has also been increasingly used for human consumption.
Farmers get higher prices for food grains than feed grains and it is therefore one way to increase farmers' income to have access to the most diverse markets for the grain. Increased processing of grain in scattered settlements can increase employment and special mention should be made of the tourism industry. The market for food for tourists is growing and farmers can take advantage of it.
Iceland is on the northern border of the cereal belt, so it is natural to ask whether Icelandic barley is sufficiently mature for utilization in the food industry. Various tests have been performed on the production of food from Icelandic barley and they have given positive results. Chemical measurements of Icelandic barley have also shown that its composition is normal and the starch content is high.
Interest in domestic products clearly grew in the wake of the banking crisis. There was considerable interest in food from Icelandic barley. The National Association of Master Bakers advocated the use of barley for bread making and a considerable number of bakeries offered barley bread. Kornax competed for barley bread and that was part of the interest. The largest bakery in the country, Myllan, marketed new barley bread from Eyrarbúið and it goes by the name Eyrarbrauð. The use of domestic cereals in the baking industry has now declined somewhat, so there is reason to encourage the development of food products from domestic cereals.
New project
Work is now underway on two Nordic cereals projects aimed at increasing the value of cereal production and boosting employment in rural areas in the Arctic. Particular attention is paid to increased regional production of grain for food production. Matís will manage these projects, but there will be extensive collaboration with the Agricultural University of Iceland. The Agricultural University's grain breeding was of great importance for the acquisition of partners in other countries. In addition to the University of Agriculture, participants from northern Norway and the Faroe Islands will take part in the project. The co-operation has been expanded beyond the Nordic countries and will involve parties in Orkney and Newfoundland.
The first project is funded by the Nordic-Atlantic Co-operation (NORA). The project will delve into the seams of grain production conditions in each country, varieties will be tested, guidelines will be compiled and quality issues will be examined. The second project is a preliminary project that aims to prepare a large project on the production of food from grain.
In the projects, barley will be given priority, but work will also be done with wheat, oats and rye, as appropriate in each country. The projects are expected to open up new possibilities related to grain and increase its processing for grain farmers and companies. Domestic grain should replace imported grain in as many areas as possible, and thus local production options are utilized for the benefit of rural areas. Domestic grain should gain a foothold in underutilized markets and new markets. The baking industry is an underutilized market as a lot of grain is imported for that industry.
It is believed that grain cultivation can increase significantly in Iceland. In the Orkney Islands, grain farming is also practiced with great success, albeit on a small scale. In the Faroe Islands, grain farming has been dormant for 50 years, although the Faroe Islands are located about 300 km south of the grain farming area in the south of Iceland. In northern Norway, grain is grown in areas far north of Iceland. It is therefore clear that the conditions for grain cultivation are very different among the partners in the project. One of the main purposes of the projects is to increase co-operation between the countries and to share knowledge and experience between the parties.
What kind of utilization?
Barley is a versatile grain and is suitable as a raw material in a variety of foods. In particular, there are a variety of baking products such as bread, flat cakes, biscuits, crispbread and cakes. Barley like any other grain can be suitable for breakfast cereals. Finally, malted barley is one of the most important ingredients in alcoholic beverages. In recent years, however, barley has been used unmalted in beer, but then it is based on enzyme technology. Small breweries in Iceland have not yet utilized domestic barley properly.
There are great opportunities within the baking industry to utilize barley. Barley, however, forms a weaker gluten network than wheat in traditional bakery products, and therefore barley and flour must be mixed in such products. However, barley has certain health benefits beyond wheat and it is important to make the barley a bigger niche. These healthy properties of barley are mainly high levels of fiber and beta-glucans, which lower blood cholesterol and reduce blood sugar fluctuations. This has now been officially recognized by the fact that barley health claims are allowed on food packaging under a new regulation. This is of great importance to the food industry and can be the driving force behind the greatly increased use of barley in food production.
Opportunities in rural areas
The flow of tourists to Iceland has been growing rapidly in recent years. It is believed that the number of tourists will continue to increase and it will be necessary to direct them to as many parts of the country as possible. Hundreds of thousands of tourists need a lot of food and many of them are interested in trying local food. This is therefore an ideal opportunity for parties in scattered settlements to increase food production. Rental small-scale production can be mentioned, and small food companies can expand their operations.
Contact us
The projects mentioned above are based on close collaboration with grain farmers and companies and parties who want to produce food from domestic grain. In the initial stages, this mainly involves the collection of information and, subsequently, the dissemination of practical information on the utilization of grain. As a result, it is hoped that a variety of productions will become a reality. It can be assumed that the main development areas will be the South (under the Eyjafjöll mountains and uplands), Fljótsdalshérað, Vesturland, Skagafjörður and Eyjafjörður. Grain farmers and companies interested in food production from domestic grain and co-operation in projects are requested to contact Ólaf Reykdal at Matís. Parties do not have to be within the areas mentioned above.
For further information Ólafur Reykdal.