The eruption in Eyjafjallajökull and the effect on agriculture in Iceland

Runólfur Sigursveinsson advisorThe Agricultural Association of South

Iceland

NJF seminar 16.-17. september 2010

The history...• We have known that eruption in this area could

happen.... The eruption started the 14th of april and has now stopped ?

• Evacuation plans for people had been carried out and tested before the eruption

• About 700 people were ordered to leave their homes in the beginning of the eruption – some of them were allowed to go back to feed their animals and milk the cows but had to report to the local authorities when they came back from the area

What about the livestock ?

• The area near the volcano is an important agricultural area – About 12% of the dairy production, 17% of all horses in Iceland and about 6% of the sheep production.

• The eruption started when most of the animals were kept inside – not nearly all the horses.

• About 120 farms have been affected – mainly because of the ash

What was done to help the farmers ?

• A special taskforce was established by the ministry of fisheries and agriculture which coordinated actions.

• A lot of work was done by the local authorities and also by the Agricultural Association of South Iceland and also by the Farmers Association of Iceland

• About 20 advisors visited about 120 farms 12th and 13th of May – the purpose was to evalute the situation with the farmers.

How was the situation tackled ?

• We had to provide land for sheep grazing outside the affected area – about 5000 sheep were transported to other grazing area

• About 2000 horses were transported to other grazing area

• We created and organised hay/bale distribution system to obtain feed for next winter

How was the situation tackled ?

• We tried to speed up information on the results of chemical analyses of the effects of fluoride (Fl) on grazing fields.

• Establishing a subititute farm worker program to allow farmers to take holdidays away from the area.

• Ensuring that financial institutions take into account the hardship of farmers in the eruption area.

The situtation now...

• Eyjafjallajokull is now resting... but ?• A lot of ash is in the area and in some part in

the fields – and the ash is moving around• 2-3 farms will quit because of the ash...• About 4.000 silage bales have been

transported to the area from others farmers.• It will take a few years until the area is settled

Iceland and the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull

Eyjafjallajökull is in South Iceland

A picture from the area in late april

A lot of noise and lighting...

The eruption in the first days..

Trying to get the animals away from the ash

The people had to work with masks because of the ash..

The ash is coming..

The ash is coming...

The farm Seljavellir in early May

The farmer at Seljavellir

Cleaning the ash from the buildings - farm Seljavellir

The ash on the roads..

The ash was in some places like dust..

The ash is moving around...

The ash is in the grasslands but the grass is alive...

Thank you