The Arctic Foods Innovation Cluster (AFIC) is a project that aims to pull together relevant people in the Arctic foods value chain for a cluster-based approach to food production and regional economic development.
This is a very interesting to our Niriqatiginnga project team as they are exploring food sector entrepreneurship and supply chain innovation as part of our efforts. The AFIC works to understand food production and to include traditional, artisanal, and industry-scale production of natural resources into food for own, national, and international consumption.
The AFIC understands food innovation to encompass:
- New modes of production and consumption patterns, e.g. introduction of hydroponics or aquaponics farming; and
- New production and consumption of non-food products, e.g. using waste products from the seafood sector to produce medicine or fabrics (Ocean Cluster in Iceland) or seaweed production as both food source and CO2 sequestration (Ocean Rainforest in the Faroe Islands).
What we are really interested in is this part of the proposal:
- A cluster-based approach to food innovation would draw together Arctic food producers with governments, Arctic Indigenous communities, universities, research centers, vocational training providers, and industry associations and young people (the next generation).
- Overall it would seek to respond to global challenges of food production while seeking to define the Arctic’s role and contribution to the changing climate and issues of food security locally and around the world.
- The AFIC will create opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation in the food and drink industry and supply chain, while strengthening the Arctic’s position at the international scale.
The objective of the AFIC will be to create added value for Arctic Communities by connecting northern entrepreneurs, southern-based investors, research centers, businesses and bio-technology developers that have knowledge and interest in the Arctic food industries.
For more information on the Arctic Foods Innovation Cluster (AFIC), see:
Proposal to SDWG: Arctic Foods Innovation Cluster
https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/020c66bc-d10c-4d37-a839-870712da2200/content
