Over €12million allocated to Climate and the Environment research projects in latest tranche of grants
The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Research and Development, Martin Heydon, T.D., has taken the opportunity to highlight the significant focus on climate action and the environment in the recent awarding of research funding by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Referring to the announcement of over €20m in research funding to the agri-food sector earlier this week, Minister Heydon stated: “The allocation of 60% of the total research funding for ten projects in the areas of climate and environmental research sends out a strong signal of intent – this government recognises the significant climate and environmental challenges facing the agriculture sector and it is prepared to invest and work with stakeholders to finding solutions to those challenges”.
The call also prioritised collaboration and sharing of knowledge to ensure we will deliver on our climate ambitions. Minister Heydon remarked “When I announced the research awards earlier this week, I was delighted to see the collaborative approach being taken in these projects, as envisaged in the Food Vision 2030 Strategy, where researchers will work together with partners from industry, civil society and government, thus working as one to develop a more sustainable agri-food system”.
The Minister added, “A significant project will look at new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon sinks while also considering how these measures can be credited to farmers who implement them ( LAB-MACC)”.
The Minister also drew attention to a number of the other projects recently awarded funding, stating “I note with interest that the ‘PASTURE-NUE’ project aims to engage directly with dairy, beef and sheep farmers to unlock the wealth of knowledge and experience that they can bring to reduce nitrogen and ammonia emissions. Similarly, the ‘REWET’ project will involve farmers in developing actions to restore the water table in agricultural landscapes, which in turn can enhance carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. We also know the importance that forestry will play in reaching our climate targets and I believe the project ‘ContinuFOR’ will produce useful insights into continuous cover forestry”.
The Minister concluded, “I look forward to the outcomes of these new research projects and I am confident they will offer new practices, technologies and services that will benefit farms, forests, the environment and our society. Crucially, they will also make a significant contribution to fulfilling our actions and targets in the Food Vision 2030 Strategy and the Climate Action Plan.”
ENDS
Notes for Editor:
Full details of all awards are set out in: gov.ie - Minister McConalogue and Minster Heydon jointly announce the awards made under DAFM’s 2021 Call for Research Proposals (www.gov.ie)
Additional information is provided below on the four research projects referred to in the Press Release:
- Land-Use, Agriculture and Bioenergy Measures for the Abatement of Climate Change and inclusion in Marginal Abatement Cost Curve analyses. (LAB-MACC)
- o Karl Richards, Teagasc; Collaborating Institutions: Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, Queens University Belfast; Funding awarded: €1,449,256.39 (and additional cofunding of €748,746.18 by DAERA NI)
- o The LABMACC project will quantify mitigation associated with a range of new measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance land carbon sinks, and displace fossil fuel emissions via closed farm nutrient loops and the production of bio-based products. This project will refine national emission factors so that mitigation measures can be incorporated into national inventories, enabling farmers to receive credit for emissions reduction. It will evaluate the socio-economic consequences and mitigation potential of the incorporation of measures into production systems. This will allow for the estimation of marginal abatement costs and help develop farmer decision support tools. The project will focus on knowledge transfer and the timely delivery of messaging and demonstration to farmers using the Signpost farms programme. The impact will be the identification of new measures to reduce agricultural emissions to help achieve the national greenhouse gas reduction targets of -51% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.
- Transformation to Continuous Cover Forestry: Synergies and Trade-off’s. (ContinuFOR)
- o Aine Ni Dhubhain, University College Dublin; Collaborating Institutions: Teagasc Ashtown, National University of Ireland Maynooth; Funding awarded: €840,103.98
- o Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) involves the use of silvicultural systems whereby the forest canopy is maintained at all times. In Ireland, an increasing number of forest owners have started the long-term process of transforming their forests to CCF. This project aims to estimate the total area of forest in Ireland that is suitable for transformation to CCF. Current drivers and barriers to CCF adoption in Ireland will also be identified. Different approaches to CCF transformation and their likely impact on forest-related ecosystem services will be assessed. To address an existing knowledge gap, current growth models will be evaluated and calibrated for use in modelling tree growth in CCF stands. Ultimately, this project will provide a realistic evaluation of how and where CCF transformation can be implemented in Ireland over the coming decades, and the consequences for forest ecosystem service delivery.
- Facilitating water table management on carbon rich soils. (REWET)
- o Patrick Tuohy, Teagasc; Collaborating Institutions: National University of Ireland Galway; Funding awarded: €595,218.91
- o There is an estimated 300,000 ha of grassland on drained carbon-rich soils. Plans to restore these soils and prevent additional carbon release will rely on manipulating the water table by removing and blocking existing artificial drainage features in a process described as “rewetting”. The main objective of REWET is to assess the application and impact of water table management on carbon-rich grassland soils. The project will focus on hydrological impacts. The sensitivity of water table depth to external manipulation will vary by site, as will corresponding costs and the magnitude of benefits accrued. The refinement of water table control methodologies will allow for imposed land use changes to yield maximal benefits on a per hectare basis. The project will inform strategies for the sustainable management of land resources, reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the environment, promote improved soil health and support sustainable habitats at all scales.
- A multidisciplinary approach to increasing the nitrogen use efficiency of pasture-based systems (PASTURE-NUE).
- o Michael Dineen, Teagasc; Collaborating Institutions: University College Cork, University College Dublin; Funding awarded: €1,237,187.55
- o This project will cultivate critical knowledge on how the agricultural industry can improve management practices to mitigate the current trade-offs among the production of agricultural goods and environmental sustainability (i.e., climate change, water and air quality, biodiversity). Despite the positive effect of nitrogen fertilizer use on agriculture production, the efficiency with which this nitrogen is used can be poor. This can result in unwanted emissions of nitrogen into the environment. The overall objective of this project is to increase the efficiency of nitrogen use in pasture-based systems. The project is designed to integrate novel approaches to grazing management, feed chemistry analysis, supplementary feed formulation, ruminant digestive sampling and environmental emissions monitoring to achieve its objectives. Ultimately, the project will increase the efficiency of nitrogen utilisation in pasture-based systems, thus preventing or diminishing environmental challenges such as ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as nitrate leaching to groundwater.