Grains, along with potatoes, are the most important food crops cultivated in Norway, and a wide range of varieties and landraces have been used in Norwegian agriculture. Grains are ancient cultivated crops that have been grown in Norway for at least 3000 years. The main types of grains grown in Norway are wheat, barley, oats, and rye.
The geographical origin of our four grain species, wheat, barley, rye, and oats, can be traced back to the Middle East, where their wild relatives still exist in nature.
Grain Breeding in Norway In recent centuries, modern plant breeding has produced many new grain varieties with improved characteristics, such as higher yield, quality, disease resistance, or adaptation to modern farming practices. Today, our Norwegian breeding company, Graminor, focuses on breeding wheat, barley, and oats.
In the past, farmers used to save seed from their own harvest, preserving the varieties in this way. This practice continued until the second half of the last century when seed began to be purchased new each year or at short intervals, leading to the disappearance of several old varieties. The lifespan of a grain variety in the market has become increasingly shorter as new and better varieties are introduced, displacing the old ones.
Preserving Valuable Genes To ensure that the old varieties, which may possess valuable traits, are not lost, they are preserved in the Nordic Gene Bank, located at the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen). The collection of old landraces and varieties that have been obtained is now stored there. NordGen’s collection is available to plant breeders for the development of new varieties. The Norwegian Germplasm Bank aims to propagate and make available older plant materials for practical cultivation and research.
More about Norwegian Grain Varieties (nibio.no) “In a time when at least 811 million people do not know if they will have the food they need every day, the importance of seed banks cannot be underestimated. Ensuring that local seed varieties are both preserved and used is crucial for local food production. To ensure increased food production in Norway, we need new climate-adapted plant varieties and plants that can contribute to more climate-friendly production,” says Minister of Agriculture and Food, Sandra Borch.
The Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre was established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food as a unit within NIBIO. The center coordinates expertise and activities in the conservation and use of national genetic resources and is responsible for monitoring the status and contributing to the effective management of genetic resources in livestock, crops, and forest trees.
More about the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre (nibio.no) Preserving Global Crop Diversity In 2023, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault celebrates 15 years of operation. The Seed Vault is the largest secure backup storage facility for the world’s crop diversity, with over 1.2 million seeds stored in the chambers located 130 meters inside the mountainside. The Seed Vault is situated 78 degrees north of the equator and provides gene banks with optimal storage conditions for safety duplicates free of charge. The Seed Vault is established and owned by Norway and operated in collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen), and the international organization Crop Trust.