Land and Forest Iceland
New institution built on a solid foundation
12th January 2024
An interview with Ágúst Sigurðsson, director of Land and Forest Iceland, appeared in the year's first issue of the Icelandic agricultural biweekly paper Bændablaðið. The interview explores Ágúst’s career as a geneticist and his work in that field, but also as rector of LbhÍ with more. He tates in the interview that the foundational goal of the new institution will be to excel in improving Iceland’s vegetation and soil resources and to promote their sustainable use.
In an interview with journalist Steinunn Ásmundsdóttir, Ágúst speaks about the first steps of Land and Forest Iceland, which are simply to plan the institution, organise the professional and supporting divisions as well as all the different projects the institution is supposed to carry through. Also how to execute work across in cooperation, not only across different divisions but also between all the institution's facilities around the country, who does what et cetera. There are also all sorts of things that need to be coordinated from the two older institutions in what concerns aspects like human resources, finance, accounting, systems and policies.
Ágúst says that the new institution will carry on all the good work that the previous two institutions have been doing and build on that solid ground, “but leave behind what we don’t need to use,” as he says verbatim in the interview, continuing: “We’re going to have a clear overview and build our work on solid knowledge, scientific foundations and what’s best practice. Then we’re going to work hard to set ourselves measurable goals in as many aspects as possible to fit in and figure out how we’re doing. This is very important, I think.”
Read the whole interview (in Icelandic only)