Svandís Svavarsdóttir, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, has allocated ISK 584.6 million ($4.2 million /€4.1 million) from the Food Fund (Matvælasjóður). Fifty-eights projects, from 211 applications in total, received grants.
Among the projects that received grants:
– The development of delicacies from lamb and sheep riblets
– A marketing initiative for the export of Icelandic whiskey
– A project to maximise the productivity of home food growing systems for local vegetable production
– Potable supplements made from Icelandic algae
– A system of supervision and certification for Icelandic salt-fish products
– Protein manufacturing from Icelandic grass
– The development of flavouring products from algae for oriental food
– Foal jerky and raw sausages
“The creativity and daring that Icelandic food manufacturers possess is a reason for rejoicing and goes to show that Iceland is on the right course as a food manufacturer. It’s also great to see that the gender ratio is almost even,” Svandís stated.
Four separate funds
The Food Fund awards subsidies in four categories: Bára, Kelda, Afurð, and Fjársjóður.
Bára supports projects at the idea stage. Eligible grantees include companies that have been founded over the past five years, along with entrepreneurs that want to develop ideas, raw materials, or processes related to Icelandic food manufacture.
Kelda supports projects that aim to acquire knowledge in support of the fund’s aims of innovation, sustainability, value creation, and the competitiveness of Iceland as a food manufacturer.
Afurð supports projects that are beyond the idea phase but are not yet ready to go to market. Subsidies aim to afford grantees opportunities to develop products from raw materials created during the manufacturing process and that are conducive to the creation of value.
Fjársjóður supports projects that aim to support Iceland’s marketing infrastructure and that support marketing campaigns for products connected to Icelandic food manufacture.
As noted on the government’s website, the aim of the Food Fund is to support innovation in the field of food production and processing,whether agricultural or marine-product related. The fund emphasises innovation, sustainability, value-creation, and the competitiveness of Icelandic food products.
