€2.5m to be made available for soil and agri-tech research in Ireland
Soil Call will support research to assess farm-level carbon balances to support climate action initiatives. File picture
More than €2.5m will be made available to fund soil and agri-technology research initiatives in Ireland.
€1.5m will be provided for a new European Joint Programme (EJP) on Agricultural Soils research funding call, while more than €1m in funding will also be made available for a European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) as part of two important European research initiatives.
The aim of the EJP-Soil Call is to provide knowledge on farming practices and soil health that contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
It will support research to assess farm-level carbon balances to support climate action initiatives.
The research also has the potential to connect with national research being conducted through the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory and the pilot Soil Sampling Programme.
ICT-AGRI-Food ERA-NET focuses on four areas, including the development of technologies that make agri-food systems more transparent for consumers and others along the value chain, the identification of barriers and solutions for the adoption of computer technologies in the agri-food chain, and the development and evaluation of data-driven incentive systems to support sustainable and resilient farm management practices.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon said: “I am delighted to announce funding for these two important European research initiatives which will enable Irish researchers’ to take part.
"The topics under investigation in the ICT call include technologies for improved food system transparency, barriers, and data for more sustainable farming practices. which tie in very closely with many of the commitments in the Food Vision 2030 Strategy.”
