National Emergency Supply Agency launches new Food and Water 2030 programme

The National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA) has updated its development programme portfolio to better align with the strategic focus areas of the NESA’s strategy for 2024–2027. As part of the update, the NESA Board has decided to launch a new Food and Water 2030 programme. At the same time, the Region 2030 programme is being discontinued. The NESA’s other existing programmes focusing on energy, logistics and digital security will continue and have been updated to align with the NESA’s new strategy.

Through its development programmes, the NESA develops the work carried out to ensure security of supply in order to respond effectively and efficiently to major societal and economic changes and the impacts of these changes on security of supply. The development programmes are also key tools in the implementation of the NESA’s strategy.

“The most effective way to implement the strategy is to translate it into clear development programmes that put the strategic objectives into practice. The development programmes facilitate sufficient resource allocation, extensive stakeholder involvement and implementation monitoring in the development of security of supply,” says Jarna Hartikainen, head of the NESA’s Preparedness Planning and Programme Management Unit.

The NESA’s development programme portfolio currently includes four programmes: Region 2030, Energy 2030, Logistics 2030 and Digital Security 2030. In April 2024, the NESA published its new strategy extending to 2027, one of the strategic focus areas of which is to secure food and water supply. Following the publication of the new strategy, the NESA has also updated its development programme portfolio to better correspond to its strategic focus areas.

As a result of the development programme portfolio update, the NESA will also be launching a new development programme: Food and Water 2030. At the same time, the Region 2030 programme will be discontinued at the end of 2024. In future, the regional perspective will be taken into account in all of the NESA’s development programmes.

Food and water have a cross-cutting impact on society

Food and water supply is one of the strategic focus areas of the NESA’s strategy, as it has a major impact on the functioning of society, especially civil society, in crisis situations. The Food and Water 2030 programme aims to ensure that the population of Finland has access to sufficiently nutritious and responsibly produced food and water in all circumstances.

“Food and water supply has a cross-cutting impact on the ability to function of individual people. Its functioning also reflects on other sectors, but at the same time food and water supply itself is highly dependent on various resources and systems,” says Miika Ilomäki, programme director of the Food and Water 2030 programme.

The objectives of the Food and Water 2030 programme are to develop Finland’s capacity to produce food and guarantee food production in prolonged crisis situations. A well-functioning society requires well-functioning food production, trade and distribution, food services, and water and waste management. As food and water supply affects all aspects of society, the flow of food and the cycle of matter through different production activities must be ensured under all circumstances. It is also important to utilise the resources in circulation and to develop food and water supply contingency arrangements to ensure security of supply.

Just like the NESA’s strategy, the Food and Water 2030 programme aims to respond to the challenges and security of supply impacts resulting from changes in the operating environment, such as climate change. Ensuring security of supply in the changing operating environment and the ability to respond to new kinds of threats requires us to find new operating methods and models.

The Food and Water 2030 programme will be integrated into the NESA’s development programme portfolio as of 1 January 2025.

Results of the Region 2030 programme to continue serving as a basis for development work

As part of the implementation of the NESA’s strategy, a decision has been made to discontinue the Region 2030 programme by the end of 2024. The programme has involved developing intersectoral cooperation to improve regional security of supply and preparedness, taking into account the special characteristics of different regions.

“The programme has succeeded in increasing awareness of regional-level security of supply activities and the need for their continuous development, among other things. As a result, the regional level has been recognised as a key level of implementation of security of supply work alongside the national level,” says Ville Anttila, programme director of the Region 2030 programme.

Even though the programme is ending, the work carried out during it will continue to serve as a good framework for further development of regional security of supply activities. Regional development work and the ongoing projects of the programme will continue as part of the work of the NESA’s regional team and the other 2030 programmes of the NESA’s strategy period. Cooperation with the key stakeholders of the programme will also continue.

The Region 2030 programme was launched in June 2021 and will end on 31 December 2024.