The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, TD, today announced awards of over €28 million for collaborative inter-institutional research projects under the Department’s competitive research funding programmes.
Announcing the awards at a briefing in Dublin today the Minister said “Today’s research funding announcement, coupled with other initiatives announced recently, will make a significant contribution to the sustainability, innovation and competitiveness of the Irish agri-food, forestry and marine sectors whilst also adding to research capability at the institutional level”.
The content of this Call was heavily influenced by strategic research and innovation agendas drawn up by industry-led, stakeholder advisory groups. Accordingly, the projects cover a number of key overarching themes including; sustainable food production and processing; managing for environmental protection and enhancement; sustainable forest management; delivering food safety & food quality; and food for improved nutrition and health.
The 43 awards involve collaborations between 19 different institutions and organisations including Teagasc, a number of our universities and our institutes of technology. The research investment announced will provide direct employment for 186 people including 65 contract researchers and 83 post graduate research opportunities in the form of PhDs (66) and Masters degrees (17).
In addition, as part of the on-going North-South cooperation on agri-food research and innovation, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland, has teamed up with DAFM to provide funding of over €2 million to enable 3 research performing organisations north of the border to participate in 7 of the successful research projects.
Stressing his on-going commitment to research and innovation in the agri-food sector Minister Creed said “today’s research awards brings the total investment made by my Department over the last five years to just over €124 million. This research is a key component in delivering on the ambitious targets set out in the Food Wise 2025 and the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs”.
Full details of these awards are set out in Appendix 1.
Notes for editor
Information on Projects Funded and all related documents can be found on the Departments website at www.agriculture.gov.ie/research/Summary
1. The awards arise from a Call for Proposals launched under the three competitive, research funding programmes operated by the Department, namely, the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), the Research Stimulus Fund (RSF), and the Programme of Competitive Forest Research for Development (CoFoRD).
2. Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM) has been in operation since 2000, and 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.
3. Research Stimulus Fund (RSF) 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.
4. Competitive Forest Research for Development (CoFoRD) aims, inter alia, to develop a scientific foundation and support for a sustainable, competitive, market orientated and innovative forest industry. In this regard, funding for public good research is provided to public research organisations and higher education institutes through the Department managed COFORD Programme on a competitive basis.
Appendix 1:
Project Ref Project Title Lead Institute Project Co-ordinator Collaborators DAFM Grant (€) DAERA Grant (€)
15/S/672 Feasible phenotyping strategies for efficient and effective genetic gain in difficult-to-measure traits in cattle and sheep Teagasc Dr Sinead Mc Parland ICBF 133,648 -
15/S/745 Amoebic disease of salmon GMIT Dr Eugene McCarthy NUIG, UCD, MI 601,347 -
15/S/696 A multidisciplinary approach to improving the reproductive performance in the Irish sheep, beef and dairy populations Teagasc Dr Noirin Mc Hugh ICBF, WIT, AFBI 777,681 5,200
15/S/732 New strategies to predict and monitor semen fertility Teagasc Dr Stephen Butler UCD, ICBF 1,096,129 -
15/S/675 NUTRIGEN: The interaction between genotype and nutrition in high yielding dairy cows in seasonal grass based systems of milk production UCD Dr Bridget Lynch ABFI, Teagasc 1,145,554 144,185
15/S/759 Alternative crops for cut foliage sector Teagasc Dr Helen Grogan UCD 558,335 -
15/S/704 Optimizing production technology in Ireland for break crops Teagasc Dr John Carroll UCD, WIT 956,760 -
15/S/618 Sensing crop pathogens: A novel surveillance system for crop diseases of economic importance Teagasc Dr Ewen Mullins DCU. UCC Tyndall 1,042,320 -
15/S/669 Small-molecule Modulators of Oomycete Calcium Channels UCC Dr John Mackrill - 195,086 -
15/S/687 Spatially Explicit Ecological Risk Assessment framework for Conservation planning of Coastal waters NUIG Dr Oliver Tully MI 332,226 -
15/S/744 Fisheries Knowledge for Optimal Sustainable Management MI Dr David Reid UCC, QUB, AFBI, GMIT 1,488,745 927,398
15/S/736 Valuing agricultural catchments Ecosystems Services NUIG Dr Stephen Hynes Teagasc 107,196 -
15/S/619 Farming and natural resources: Measures for Ecological Sustainability Teagasc Dr Daire O’ hUallachain NUIG, Sligo IT 891,022 -
15/S/655 Manipulation and Integration of Nitrogen Emissions Teagasc Dr Karl Richards AFBI, NUIG, TCD, 964,710 178,409
15/S/756 Enhancement of the CAPRI modeling with specific focus on its environmental and economic analytical capacity for Ireland UCD Dr David Stead Teagasc 499,479 -
15/S/676 Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Animal Production UCD Dr Edgar Garcia Manzanilla Teagasc 572,447 -
15/F/679 Developing the next generation of protein-enriched spray dried dairy powders with enhanced hydration properties Teagasc Dr Mark Auty CIT, UCC, UU, WIT 2,192,740 365,097
15/F/610 Novel Clean label Strategies for the Nutritional and Sensory Optimisation of Reduced Salt and Fat Processed Meat Products UCC Dr Maurice O’ Sullivan Teagasc 871,796 -
15/F/604 Thermal Or Membrane processing for Infant formula Teagasc Dr Linda Giblin CIT 590,964 -
15/F/683 Future proofing the Irish cheese-whey industry – a step change process to move Irish dairy commodities up the value chain. Teagasc Dr John Tobin UCC 599,000 -
15/F/731 Isolation, characterisation and exploitation of natural anti-yeast agents and their application as consumer‐friendly preservatives in food and beverages CIT Dr Aidan Coffey UCC 421,200 -
15/F/698 Seaweed-Microbe Interactions to enhance bioactive yields for food applications NUIG Dr Dagmar Stengel UCC, Teagasc 824,992 -
15/F/647 Incorporation of novel brewers’ spent grain (BSG)-derived protein hydrolysates and blended ingredient in functional foods for older adults and assessment of health benefits in vivo. UL Prof R.J. Fitzgerald UCC, CIT 683,937 -
15/F/602 Novel Technological Approaches for the developmenT of low FodMap food products. UCC Prof Elke Arendt Teagasc, CIT 1,072,198 -
15/F/721 The relation between the Human Milk Microbiome, Composition and Infant Nutrition UCC Prof. Alan Kelly Teagasc 600,308 -
15/F/635 Generation of Functional Foods to Promote the Growth of Newly Identified Health Associated Microbes in the Gut Teagasc Dr. Paul Cotter ITT, UCC 603,909 -
15/F/737 Innovative food structures to enhance the sensory experience, the nutrient profile and nutrient bioavailability for older people. UCD Dr. Graham O’Neill WIT, Teagasc 599,950 -
15/F/670 Development of biofortification approaches for enhanced vitamin K content of foods: proof of stability, efficacy and sensory appeal UCC Prof. Kevin Cashman Teagasc 533,403 -
15/F/685 Functional foods for Optimal nutrition for healthier Ageing UCD Dr Michelle Clarke UU 302,354 296,261
15/F/673 National Children’s Food Consumption Survey II. UCC Prof. Albert Flynn UCD, DIT 1,242,170 -
15/F/724 Foodborne Viruses in Ireland – farm to fork Investigation, Identifying Risk and mitigation Approaches for Hepatitis E Virus, Hepatitis A Virus, Norovirus & Sapovirus. UCD Dr Suzie Coughlan MI 569,441 -
15/F/641 Clean Broilers through Enhanced Farm Biosecurity, Processing Prerequisites and HACCP Based Interventions Teagasc Dr Declan Bolton UCD, CIT 1,117,171 -
15/F/629 Surveillance of Verocytotoxigenic E. coli in Ireland: A One Health Approach Teagasc Dr Geraldine Duffy UCD, HSE, NUIG 1,249,332 -
15/F/690 Research supporting the unpasteurised milk and associated cheesemaking industry from a food safety perspective Teagasc Dr Kieran Jordan - 149,627 -
15/F/747 Enzymes for efficient milk oligosaccharide production. NUIG Prof Lokesh Joshi Teagasc 98,877 -
15/F/707 Opportunities for functional and bioactive protein ingredients derived from co-products of the Irish meat industry – Desk Study Teagasc Dr Anna Marie Mullen - 90,818 -
15/F/703 Analysis of diet and eating behaviours in infants and young children as determinants of weight status and health outcomes for innovative product development. UCC Dr Áine Hennessy - 69,759 -
15/F/702 Campylobacter – Control On-farm via Prevention and Exclusion NUIG Dr Cyril Carroll Teagasc 599,284 -
15/C/684 Irish private forest owners: The role of knowledge transfer and social networks UCD Dr Aine Ni Dhubhain Teagasc 198,364 -
15/C/666 Exploitation And Realisation of Thinnings from Hardwoods NUIG Dr Annette Harte Teagasc 194,543 -
15/C/638 Supporting Hen Harrier in Novel Environments UCC Dr John O'Halloran - 199,882 -
15/C/694 Commercialisation of Irish Cross-Laminated Timber NUIG Dr Annette Harte - 80,035 -
15/C/650 Irish Land Use Emission and Sequestration Support Tool Teagasc Dr Trevor Donnellen UCD, DIT, AFBII 1,258,875 125,950