Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs, Jon Lilletun

Opening Speech at AgEng 98 - International Conference on Agricultural Engineering

24.08.98

Presidents, Chairman, Conference Participants, Ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all to Norway and to Oslo, and to this conference on agricultural engineering.

It may seem strange that Norway, which is situated so far north, should host an international conference on agricultural engineering. However, our history of agriculture goes far back. Even in Norway we have found traces of arable land and traces of farm animals which go back 4500 years. But as you all know, the climate of younger Stone Age was rather different than today and much better than the summer we have experienced in the southern part of Norway this year.

Agriculture in the northern part of Europe developed slowly during the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and not until 500 A.C. the ancient Norwegians started to use plough and scythe. The way agriculture was carried out was then more or less unchanged from the Viking Age and up to end of the 18th century, when new herbs and plants and new machinery were introduced.

During the 19th century Norwegian agriculture was in great progress – arable land and the number of cattle increased. There were several reasons for this development;

• the results of breeding cattle
• professional journals for agriculture were published
• the work of the travelling agronomists
• the establishment of agricultural schools
• and the foundation of The Higher School of Agriculture in 1859, which was the direct predecessor for The Agriculture University of Norway.

The Norwegian Government has seen and sees education and research as important means to stabilise and improve the population’s health and welfare and to ensure the economic foundation and a sustainable development for the nation. This of course includes education and research within agriculture, where The Agriculture University of Norway and a few research institutes have a national task.

I am sure all of you present here today agree with me when I stress the importance of commitment for agricultural education and research.

However, in this work it is important to have a wider perspective than national economic development. The situation in many developing countries demands action from the rich and industrialised countries. And one of the best ways of supporting developing countries is to help these countries to establish sustainable farming. To do this we need knowledge through research and education and we must be willing to share this knowledge with the developing countries.

Today, the technological evolution goes very fast, especially within biotechnology. Before February 27th 1997, I didn’t know the name of a single sheep. But that day, I and the rest of the world said “Hello Dolly” to what is now the most famous sheep of all time. Since then, researchers have cloned cattle and made dozens of copies out of one mouse. Many feel that scientists have now taken cloning one step closer to the assembly line.

Animal cloning has been one of many great scientific achievements. However, many fear that with this fast, and ever faster technological evolution, we hardly have time to ask – and even lesser time to answer – the necessary ethical, moral and environmental questions. I believe it is of crucial importance that the scientists ask these questions and discuss them with the rest of society.

It is always easy for us concerned non-scientists to focus on the discoveries we do not understand and which may appear new and frightening for us. By doing that, we may tend to forget the great discoveries researchers have done in earlier times and which today are a matter of course. Ahead of us there are always new challenges. The development of sustainable farming, both in Europe and in the rest of the world, will increasingly depend on our ability to generate and apply new knowledge and to use existing knowledge in new areas. This means that the researchers must be aware of the need of the industry and have the ability to grasp signals of new problems and new growth trends. Furthermore it is important that researchers easily and quickly are able to communicate the results and to put the scientific results to practical use.

Remember what the English author Eden Phillpots once said:

The Universe is full of magic things that are waiting patiently for us to be smarter.

I wish for all an enjoyable and productive stay in our capital. For those of you who want to experience a little bit more of the country, I understand the organising committee offers different tours.

On behalf of The European Society of Agricultural Engineers, The Norwegian Society of Agricultural Engineering and the Agricultural University of Norway, I hereby open the International Conference on Agricultural Engineering.