Welcome to join the new research area SLU Food Crisis Preparedness (SLU Livsmedelsberedskap) which aims to strengthen the knowledge on food preparedness. The initiative has been recommended by the Swedish Research Council to receive funding through the initiative for Strategic Research Areas. During this meeting the SLU researchers behind the proposal will present their plans and invite researchers at SLU to get involved.
The Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) has recommended that SLU receive funding through the government’s 2026 initiative for Strategic Research Areas. The funding will support the research programme SLU Food Crisis Preparedness at SLU, to strengthen the knowledge on food preparedness. During this start up meeting the SLU researchers behind the proposal will introduce the aims, structure and plans and invite researchers at SLU to participate.
As part of SLU Food Crisis Preparedness, SLU will recruit promising early-career researchers as Assistant Professors, helping to build and maintain a strong knowledge base in food preparedness over the long term.
The new initiative aims to establish food preparedness as an interdisciplinary field of research at SLU, and thus bring together natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities to explore how agricultural and food systems can become more robust, adaptable and sustainable in the long term and thus withstand chocks in times of crisis.
Food systems are exposed to several overlapping risks – from geopolitical developments and disruptions to trade and logistics to climate change and biodiversity loss. SLU Food Crisis Preparedness will explore how these so-called polycrises affect food production and supply, and how systems can be developed to better withstand and adapt to change.
SLU Food Crisis Preparedness covers five thematic areas:
- Developing concepts and theories of food preparedness
- Exploring robust and resilient agricultural and food systems
- Developing indicators and methods to measure and monitor preparedness
- Governance, policy and historical perspectives
- Bringing together knowledge from farm level to the food system as a whole
The results are expected to contribute to policy development and practical measures to strengthen food preparedness, both within the food sector and across other parts of Sweden’s total defence system.
