History of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
On 31 May 1860, Emperor Alexander II issued a decree establishing an independent Department for Agriculture and Public Works. The decree was published on 17 September 1860, which is therefore considered the founding date of the department.
By a decree of 10 May 1869, the name of the department was changed to the Department of Agriculture. When the Senate and its departments were transformed into the Council of State and ministries by a decree of 27 November 1918, the Department of Agriculture became the present Ministry of Agriculture. In 1971, the ministry’s name was changed to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
At the same time, advisory boards for agriculture, forestry and veterinary affairs were established to assist the ministry in dealing with major and far-reaching matters within their respective fields. To coordinate agricultural research, an Advisory Board for Agricultural Research was established on 2 May 1972.
In 1983, the Ministry of the Environment was established. At that time, matters related to environmental protection, nature conservation, outdoor recreation and the recreational use of nature, water protection, oil spill response, marine protection, prevention of environmental harm caused by hazardous substances and other chemicals, as well as land use planning, construction and housing, were transferred to the new ministry. Matters related to water management, however, remained within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
At the beginning of 1991, Metsähallitus (the Finnish Forest Administration) became a state-owned enterprise. At the same time, official duties related to private forestry were transferred from Metsähallitus to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
As part of an organisational reform that entered into force in 1993, the National Board of Agriculture was abolished, and some of its duties were transferred to the ministry. At the same time, the Information Service Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was established, to which, among other things, tasks related to the ministry’s financial and human resources administration were transferred. The rural business districts and fisheries districts previously under the National Board of Agriculture were also transferred to the ministry’s administrative branch.
Following Finland’s accession to the European Union in 1995 and the introduction of EU legislation, the content of the ministry’s responsibilities changed significantly, particularly in agricultural and fisheries policy. Extensive registers were introduced, such as IACS (Integrated Administration and Control System for agricultural support), registers related to agricultural market support schemes, and registers in the fisheries sector.
In 1995, the Rural Business Appeals Board became an independent appellate authority, and the appeals it handled were transferred away from the ministry.
In 1997, with the establishment of the Employment and Economic Development Centres, the duties of the rural business districts and fisheries districts were transferred to these centres.
On 1 May 2006, the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) was established. Personnel from the ministry’s Department of Food and Health were transferred to Evira, along with implementation-related duties such as licensing and authorisation tasks in areas including:
- licensing of veterinarians and the right to practise
- import and export of animals and animal products
- animal welfare (including animal keeping bans, animal transport and use of animals for scientific purposes)
- control of animal diseases and border inspection activities
At the beginning of 2008, responsibilities were transferred from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry concerning genetically modified food, food supplements, nutrition and health claims, foods for special dietary purposes, food fortification, the external quality of plant products, food contact materials, additives and food irradiation. The National Food Council and the Advisory Board on Novel Foods were also transferred to the ministry.
In addition, responsibilities related to food hygiene in large-scale catering and retail, as well as the monitoring of food poisoning, were transferred from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Since the 2010s, the administrative sector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been reformed particularly with regard to agency structures, digitalisation and the implementation of EU policy. The Finnish Food Authority, established in 2019, brought together key functions related to the food system and rural administration. In the 2020s, the ministry’s activities have increasingly emphasised sustainable development, security of supply and the promotion of the bioeconomy. The regional government reform implemented at the beginning of 2026 centralised rural and business-related tasks in the new Vitality Centres and further clarified the administrative structure.