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Coveney announces 2013 call for research proposals

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, TD, today announced a new Call for Research Proposals under the Department’s three competitive research funding programmes - FIRM, Stimulus and CoFoRD.

 

 

 

In general, the objective of this Call is to build and maintain research capacity and capability in the Irish public research system that contributes to underpinning the sustainability and competitiveness of the Irish agri-food, forestry and fisheries sectors and the achievement of the growth targets set out in Food Harvest 2020. The areas covered by Call 2013 include animal and crop production, food and health, marine origin foods, forestry, the wider bio-economy as well as the safety, quality, integrity and sustainability of the supply chain.

 

 

 

In relation to marine origin foods area, the Minister announced his intention to co-fund projects with the Marine Institute and stated that "co-funding arrangements between research funders, where appropriate, are logical in the context of the National Research Prioritisation process and, in this instance, it makes perfect sense for my Department and the Marine Institute to come together to fund research relating to Marine Origin Foods".  Following on from a significant investment of €32 million in agri-food and forest research in 2012, the Minister reiterated his commitment to targeted research and innovation within the sector by stating "Publicly funded research will continue to play a key role in driving innovation within the Bio-economy thus contributing to the growth targets outlined in Food Harvest 2020 and ultimately making a positive contribution to the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs".

 

 

 

He concluded by wishing applicants every success with their applications and stated "I have no doubt that the Research Community will take full advantage of this opportunity by submitting excellent proposals and I look forward to following the process over the coming months".

 

The deadline for proposal applications is Tuesday 7th May at 1.00pm. All documentation in relation to the Call is available on the Research Section of the Department’s website:

 

www.agriculture.gov.ie/research

Notes for editor:

Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM)

is the main programme for funding food research in research performing organisations in Ireland including Teagasc and the Higher Education Institutes (HEI) thereby contributing to building and maintaining a research capability that helps underpin a vibrant, competitive and innovative food manufacturing industry.

 Stimulus

aims to facilitate research that fills gaps in the mainstream Teagasc programme, supports sustainable and competitive agricultural production practices and policies, and contributes to building and maintaining a knowledge economy and research capability in the agriculture sector.

Programme of Competitive Forestry Research for Development (CoFoRD)

aims to develop a scientific foundation and support for a sustainable, competitive, market orientated and innovative forest industry.