Profitable and
responsible
primary production

Primary production is changing. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry must adapt to the changing operating environment.

Land and water usage are subject to new and increasing demands from the perspective of profitability and sustainability.

The challenge is to increase profitability and meet market demands, while limiting negative impacts to the climate and the environment.

Luke’s research programme Profitable and Responsible Primary Production seeks solutions to these challenges.

We aim to develop sustainable primary production so that we secure enough food and wood for future generations as well as not reducing biodiversity.

Mikko Kurttila, Programme Director

Productive forests require silviculture

Our research promotes active and sustainable silviculture. We study different forest management methods and the silviculture of mixed forests. The objective is to diversify forest management and boost the adaptability and biodiversity of managed forests in changing conditions of growth.

Healthy and well-managed forests provide habitats for plants and animals, and recreational opportunities for people.

We study ways of increasing the growth of forests, with the goal that forests are able to produce an increasing amount of high-quality raw materials that can replace fossil-based materials in the industrial sector.

Mikko Kurttila

We produce tools for improved tree-breeding, and solutions for growth of commercial forest lands and their increasingly versatile use.

We can provide forest owners and the industry relying on forest resources with up-to-date information on diversifying their forest management, increasing biodiversity, and new silviculture and forest use solutions.

Aiming for profitable food production

The greatest challenge for agriculture is the need to increase profitability and sustainability. Weak profitability slows down the adoption of environmentally friendly and sustainable new solutions.

We support farms’ competitiveness and capacity for renewal by introducing research-based solutions into practice.

We rely on scientific means to support structural change that secures the continuity of agriculture. Our goal is for Finnish food production to be sustainable, acceptable, and profitable, while ensuring food security.

The food produced in Finland is nutritious and safe. We also produce data and solutions for increasing the sustainability, profitability, diversity, and adaptability of production on a global scale.

We study how to diversify cultivation of crops. We evaluate the benefits of legumes and special crops from a variety of perspectives, particularly profitability.

The welfare of animals kept for farming purposes and the climate resilience of the supply chain related to foodstuffs of animal origin are at the core of our research. Our studies utilise Luke’s diverse research infrastructures.

Through our studies, we also contribute to our domestic food production having the capacity to meet demands as diets change. Healthy and high-quality Finnish food has what it takes to become a major export item.

Technology to the rescue in structural changes

We integrate new technologies, applications, and data collection methods into primary production practices, with the goal of cost-effective and sustainable production.

Technology facilitates a reduction in the labour-intensiveness of primary production and attracts young talents to the sector.

Selective breeding increases productivity, profitability, and adaptability

Modern selective methods based on genome editing accelerate and amplify the selective breeding of plant and animal populations.

We develop computational methods and breeding tools that improve the health of livestock and farmed fish as well as the reliability, growth, and quality of plants.

We provide decision makers with research data and new solutions

We study what kind of impacts national and international policies have on primary production and develop decision-making models that support the sustainable management of natural resources.

We know how to renew primary production wisely – to become increasingly diverse, acceptable, reliable, and efficient.