Funded Projects 2014-2020

Project CEREAL

Project Acronym	CEREAL
Project Title	Northern Cereals – New Markets for a Changing Environment
Project subsite	CEREAL
Project Website	http://cereal.interreg-npa.eu/

Summary

The project objectives are to increase cereal growing in the partner areas and to increase the growing of higher value cereals for local food and drink products. The main outputs from the project will be increased numbers of farmers growing cereals for feed, malting or milling and the production of higher value cereal products like seed, malt, food and beverages. These changes will increase employment, income and consumer choice in rural areas.

Objectives

The project objectives are to: Increase value of products from the cereal production chain and thereby increase the income of farmers and SMEs. Expand cereal production to new locations and thereby increase the number of jobs, increase cereal utilisation for new products and thereby increase the number of jobs.

Impacts

Tangible

Reduced environmental impact:	Barely cultivation started in four new locations, in the Faroe Islands, Scottish island of Rassay, Northern Norway, and Newfoundland. Using locally grown cereals for food/beverage production or as a feed increases sustainability of local communities and reduces the CO2 produced when importing cereals to these remote areas. The whole process of how to start barely cultivation in the Northern Periphery regions has been described in the Farmer´s Handbook.
Business development:	By developing the cereal production chain the project made communities more competitive and brought new opportunities for farmers and SMEs in remote areas. Newly established contacts between farmers and bakeries/breweries completed the value chain and ensured the duration of the projects´ results. Through bakery courses and exchange visits, partners gained knowledge which helped them to developed new bakery and beverage products such as whiskey, gin, beer, rapeseed oil, breads and flours.

Reduced environmental impact:

Barely cultivation started in four new locations, in the Faroe Islands, Scottish island of Rassay, Northern Norway, and Newfoundland. Using locally grown cereals for food/beverage production or as a feed increases sustainability of local communities and reduces the CO2 produced when importing cereals to these remote areas. The whole process of how to start barely cultivation in the Northern Periphery regions has been described in the Farmer´s Handbook.

Business development:

By developing the cereal production chain the project made communities more competitive and brought new opportunities for farmers and SMEs in remote areas. Newly established contacts between farmers and bakeries/breweries completed the value chain and ensured the duration of the projects´ results. Through bakery courses and exchange visits, partners gained knowledge which helped them to developed new bakery and beverage products such as whiskey, gin, beer, rapeseed oil, breads and flours.

Intangible

Building institutional capacity:	The level of expertise and practice in cereal cultivation and food/beverage production differed greatly among the partners. Due to effective knowledge transfer, all participating institutions increased their expertise. Farmers learnt how to dry and store barley without growing dangerous bacteria. Icelandic and Norwegian distilleries learnt from their Scottish colleagues how to malt barley on the floor, which helped them to develop their own malting facilities.

Building institutional capacity:

The level of expertise and practice in cereal cultivation and food/beverage production differed greatly among the partners. Due to effective knowledge transfer, all participating institutions increased their expertise. Farmers learnt how to dry and store barley without growing dangerous bacteria. Icelandic and Norwegian distilleries learnt from their Scottish colleagues how to malt barley on the floor, which helped them to develop their own malting facilities.