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Finland AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY, AND FISHERIES
The Finns traditionally earned their living from the
produce
of their soils and waters. Even though by the 1980s
Finland had
long been an industrial country, many Finns continued to
see the
hardworking farmer as an upright figure whose way of life
should
be preserved so the country would not lose contact with
its rural
roots. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries had shrunk to
less
than 10 percent of GDP by the late 1980s, but these
sectors
remained crucial for the country's economic security.
Although
only 8 percent of its territory was arable, the country
had been
self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs since the
1960s--indeed,
surpluses of dairy products and meat caused serious
difficulties
in the 1970s and the the 1980s. Seventy-six percent of the
country was covered by forests, which supplied the
country's most
important raw material--lumber. Agriculture and forestry
had long
been closely linked: most farms included forestland, and
most
farmers supplemented their earnings by selling lumber or
by
working in the forest industries during the winter.
Although
rivers and lakes covered about 9 percent of Finland, and
the
country had extensive coastal waters, fishing was not an
important source of food or employment.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was
responsible for
policies dealing with agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
Recognizing the close links among these sectors, the
government
considered that policies should offer integrated solutions
to the
problems of managing the country's resources.
Data as of December 1988
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