Investment in efficient drainage schemes is an ongoing priority for farmers in Finland, according to Olle Häggblom, a representative of the Finnish Field Drainage Association.
Häggblom, who attended the recent Catchment Science 2023 conference, held in Wexford, said:
“We are a long established organisation. Our objective is to promote land drainage in Finland. This is a big issue as poor drainage is a big problem for farmers in the country.
“Water management is crucially important throughout Finland. Our climate and our clayey soils are the main reasons for this.
“The bottom line is that farmers need to drain their land effectively in order to grow grass and produce crops. Our aim is to promote drainage at a general level, but also to address issues confronting farmers at a local level.”
Finland is a member of the European Union. Currently, two forms of grant aid are available to farmers in the country, where land drainage schemes are concerned.
“Support is available for arterial drainage schemes. In addition, 40% grants are available for tile drainage projects,” he added.
Häggblom attended the Wexford event because of the potential relevance that catchment science has for agriculture in Finland, commenting on which he said:
“Water management at a catchment level will become very important in Finland.
“At the present time, there is no forum on catchment scale, which will allow for the development of catchment plans and their efficient execution.
“At the moment, landowners are working more or less on an individual basis without taking into account possible implications, or synergies, at a regional or national level.
“We also need to see greater synergies between all the land use sectors in Finland. E.g., forestry is a very big industry in the country.
“But forestry water management is isolated from the water management practices adopted by farmers, even if it concerns the same waterways.”
Häggblom also confirmed that water quality is an issue that has gained traction in Finland over recent years.
“We have a lot of lakes in the country, and these are very sensitive to eutrophication. We are also seeing the regular development of algal blooms in the Baltic Sea during the summer months.
“The public debate on these matters is changing. However, there remains a very strong commitment on the part of Finnish consumers to buy home-produced food,” he said.