In its 2026 budget, Stockholm plans to invest 575 million kronor ($60 million) to set up the grain reserves.

The state plans to ensure there is a regular turnover so the stocks do not perish, the Swedish Board of Agriculture said.

A tender will be launched on October 15 in the northern counties of Norrbotten, Vasterbotten, Vasternorrland and Jamtland.

These counties are currently entirely dependent on grain transported from southern Sweden -- the oblong country runs some 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) from north to south -- which could be problematic in the event of a crisis or war.

"Northern Sweden is strategically important for the military and is a particular priority for (the country's) total defence," Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said in a statement.

"It is no coincidence that it is here the first steps are being taken towards establishing emergency grain stocks, which essentially is about ensuring that the population can put food on the table even in times of crisis."

Sweden revived its "total defence" strategy in 2015 following Russia's annexation of Crimea, and more measures were introduced after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The idea is to mobilise all of society, from authorities to citizens and businesses, to collectively resist armed aggression while maintaining essential functions.

The Board of Agriculture said that 90 to 95 percent of the population could survive on grains for three months without suffering any nutrient deficiencies.

Dietary needs change in times of war, it noted, saying that the average number of calories required per person rises to 3,000 a day.