Baltic Deal, is a high profile project in the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, funded by Intereg Baltic Sea programme and The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), an international finance institution established in 1990 by the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The project includes agricultural and advisory organisations from 7 countries around the Baltic Sea.

The role of the project is to identify solutions to ensure a clean Baltic Sea and at the same maintain a sustainable agricultural production in the region.

- We will show that agriculture can contribute positively in resolving the problems related to nutrient discharge to the Baltic Sea, on a sustainable basis that is also attractive to farmers, says Irene Asta Wiborg, project manager for Baltic Deal for the Knowledge Centre.

Agricultural technical representatives from Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark are therefore now working together to assess the knowledge and methods most advantageous to farmers and the environment.

Reduced environmental impact
The project, will run over the next 3 years and has 3 major components. A common platform will be established by which the involved countries will advise the farming sector on environmental improvements.
Furthermore there will be a sharing of information about agricultural production  between the countries involved. For example about different crop cultivation methods and methods to reduce nutrient loss. Robust regions and environmentally sensitive areas around the Baltic Sea will also be identified.
 
The Knowledge Centre for Agriculture has the primary task for a component related to collection and dissemination of methodologies that can assist with developing agricultural production with a reduced environmental impact on the Baltic Sea.

Furthermore the Kowledge Centre together with the Swedish partner,The Federation of Swedish Farmers (Lantbrukas Riksforbund), and the Latvian advisory service (LRATC) have been the driving forces in development of the project. They have with assistance from the representative of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council in Brussels,  Jacob Bagge Hansen, gathered together the relevant agricultural sector experts.

- Baltic Deal was established, because the agricultural organisations wish to participate actively with proposals to reduce the impact of agricultural production on the aquatic environment of the Baltic Sea, instead of waiting for regulations to be issued from above. By taking the initiative we can make a structure favourable to both agriculture and the environment, says Irene Asta Wiborg.   

The Kowledge Centre has in recent years participated in several large environmental projects, including AGWAPLAN and Aquarius, that both relate to agricultural production and the impact on the environment.
- That background gives us extra weight on new projects and hopefully we can in the longer term participate with new and more balanced methods for production and protection of the environment, says Irene Wiborg

Read more about the strategy for Baltic Deal and objectives in this English language pamphlet  
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