Møre og Romsdal farmers call for improved land use enforcement

In Møre og Romsdal, approximately 100,000 out of 600,000 decares of farmland are currently out of operation. Vebjørn Hansen Berg, the regional leader of the Møre og Romsdal Farmers and Smallholders Association, has expressed concern regarding current agricultural policies that favor high efficiency through larger plots, which he argues leads to a decreasing number of farmers.

To support local food production and increase the number of farmers, the association is calling for several changes. These include better enforcement of the duty to cultivate land by agricultural offices, which are currently described as understaffed and underfunded. Additionally, the association advocates for plot-based subsidies to offset operational disadvantages and the implementation of a digital land register to better monitor available and utilized acreage.