Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk) was a national Norwegian R&D institute specialising in the fields of agriculture and food production, environmental protection and natural resource management. In 2015, it became part of the merger that resulted in the Norwegian institute for Bioeconomics (Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi).[1]
Bioforsk was established on 1 January 2006, after a merger of theNorwegian Centre for Soil and Environmental Research, the NorwegianInstitute for Crop Research and the Norwegian Centre for Organic Agriculture.https://web.archive.org/web/20070213051649/http://gammel.jordforsk.no/english/bioforsk_soil-and-environment.htm Bioforsk was organised under the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food.[1] Bioforsk had a staff of about 500.
The institute consisted of seven research divisions:
The Bioforsk Plant Health and Plant Protection Division is in charge ofR&D related to plant health and plant protection. The division specialisesin the fields of plant diseases, weeds, pests, climate effects, genetics andbiotechnology. Important R&D areas include integrated plant protection,biological pest control and pest forecasting systems. The division isfurthermore involved in such fields as agrometeorology, ecotoxicology andrisk analysis. The Plant Health and Plant Protection Centre is located in Ås.
The Bioforsk Soil and Environment Division is in charge of soiland environmental research. The division is specialised in thefields of soil science, soil pollution, ecotoxicology, waste management, wastewater and ecological engineering, hydrology,water quality, land use and terrestrial climate effects. Thedivision’s main office is in Ås, but there is also a branch in Svanvikin eastern Finnmark, close to the Russian and Finnish borders, witha specific focus on environmental issues in the Barents Region. Thebranch also includes the Svanhovd Conference Centre and theVisitor’s Centre of the Øvre Pasvik National Park.
The Bioforsk Arable Crops Division is in charge of R&D related tocereals, oilseed crops, peas, seed production, potatoes,vegetables and herbs. The division also conducts research on suchareas as berries, forage crops, lawn grass, small livestock, organicagriculture, precision farming and farm-based rural developmentin the mountain regions. The main office is in Kapp in Hedmark County, but there are branches throughout eastern Norway, where,due to natural conditions, most of the country’s arable crops aregrown.
The Bioforsk Horticulture and Urban Greening Division is incharge of R&D related to fruit and berry crops, greenhouseproduction of vegetables and berries, Christmas trees and cutgreens, as well as the establishment and maintenance of urban green space, including sports and amenity turf. The division alsofocuses on roughage production and cultural landscapemanagement. The main office is in Klepp in Rogaland County, justsouth of Stavanger, and there are three branches in other parts ofwestern Norway: two in Sogn & Fjordane and one in Hordaland.
The Bioforsk Grassland and Landscape Division is in charge ofR&D related to grassland management, roughage production andthe cultural landscape. The division, which is based at Stjørdal tothe north of Trondheim, also conducts research on cereals,berries, vegetables, potatoes, greenhouse crops and bioenergy.
The Bioforsk Organic Food and Farming Division is a nationalcentre of expertise, in charge of R&D related to organic agriculture and organic food production. The division’s activities cover the entire value chain from “farm to table”. The division isbased at Tingvoll in north-western Norway (Møre og RomsdalCounty).
The Bioforsk Arctic Agriculture and Land Use Division is incharge of R&D related to Arctic agriculture and the utilisation ofwilderness and rangeland resources. The division has specialexpertise in the fields of wild berry production, utilisation ofuncultivated land and freshwater fisheries. The division also has aregional responsibility for facilitating an innovative developmentof agriculture and land use in northern Norway. The main office isin the Arctic metropolis of Tromsø, with two branches in NordlandCounty (Tjøtta and Bodø).