Agriculture in Svalbard

Agriculture in Svalbard – the archipelago containing the world's northernmost permanently inhabited settlements – has a short history, and remains a minor economic factor, but has nonetheless had a culturally and socially significant role, as well as an ecologic impact.

Svalbard, an archipelago administered by Norway and located far north of continental Europe in the Arctic Ocean, has a geography and climate largely unsuited for agriculture.

No arable land exists, and the mean average temperature during July – the warmest month, which is part of a three-month period of midnight sun – is only 5.8 °C (44.4 °F).

Despite the environmental limitations, several farms have existed on Svalbard since then, mainly providing fresh produce to a diet largely dependent on imported, conserved foods.

[7] Other domesticated animals are kept in modern Longyearbyen – which is home to an Icelandic horse stable and several Greenland dog kennels – but these are raised for purely recreational purposes.

It is the sole ex-Soviet town on Svalbard which is still active, Arktikugol having continued the coal mining operations under Russian ownership.

[1][8] Soviet agriculture on Svalbard has had a significant impact on the archipelago's ecosystem, through both intentional and accidental introduction of alien species.

An example of the former can be found in Pyramiden, where Svalbard reindeer can be seen grazing on the central square's overgrown lawns, in which Ukrainian grass grows on dark, fertile soil likewise imported from Ukraine.

The species, which arrived in hay shipments intended as fodder for the coal mine's horses, is now established, and is one of just three wild terrestrial mammals on Svalbard.