Report from the Nordic Wild Berry R & D Network

What is the Nordic berry network and what is its purpose?  

- In September 2023, a Nordic research conference on wild berries was organised for the first time. RISE hosted the conference in Umeå and the FINEST project was one of the organisers. As a result of the conference, a Nordic research network on wild berries was formed. In 2024, the network will organise webinars on berry research in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. There will also be a physical meeting in October at Alnarp in Sweden and plans will be made for the next Nordic berry conference in Finland in 2025. The long-term goal is to establish a forum for mutual exchange of knowledge and co-operation on opportunities and challenges related to wild berry issues.  

What are your takeaways from the meeting in April - were there any discussions or points that you found particularly interesting?  

- The whole day was interesting, especially that there were so many discussions and questions. My impression is that the network is very useful and that there is a lot we can learn from each other and collaborate on.  The topics covered during the day spanned a wide area from mapping the berry supply, social sustainability in the Swedish berry industry with pickers from Thailand and how innovation can contribute to a sustainable transition. What I take with me is how everything is connected, how knowledge of phenology and modern laser scanning technology is used to make reliable berry forecasts, how social sustainability is affected by the structure of the industry, how consumer attitudes to wild berries and new ways of using press residues from wild berries can contribute to sustainable development.  

You will also attend the Finnish berry network meeting on 8 May. Will the same type of issues come up then, or do the challenges differ between the different countries?  

- I have also attended the webinar held by the Finnish berry researchers. It was the same type of topics that came up as in the Swedish webinar and the conditions are similar in the two countries. It was about sustainable berry picking, how the berry industry works and is monitored, tools for measuring berry production and berry companies' marketing and business opportunities. Also on this day there was a lot of time for questions and discussions, it gave a lot and the participants said several times that they should have had contact earlier or that they would have contact in the future. In the autumn, I look forward to participating in the webinars on berry research in Norway, Denmark and Iceland, where the conditions are probably different than in Sweden and Finland.