The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued a call for proposals for initiatives to reduce food waste generated in rural areas.
The funded initiative is part of the 2020 Rural Innovation and Development Fund (RIDF), and will see a total of €300,000 being allocated for various projects.
This funding is aimed at “enhancing the work previously funded to identify, target and address what is a rapidly growing issue, not just here in Ireland, but globally”.
The department says that these initiatives “will serve to address that fund’s overall objective of energising the rural economy by encouraging innovative job creation and sustainable enterprise development.”
The call for proposals relates to the provision of services for the support of food waste reduction projects, which are designed to reduce food waste generated by food businesses; retailers; wholesalers; or suppliers in rural areas.
The maximum funding available for any project is €100,000 (excluding VAT) out of a total allocations of €300,000. Funding will be awarded on a competitive basis.
The closing date for applications is 12:00pm on April 3, 2020. The proposals will be assessed through a competitive process.
Applications should be made via the call for proposals application form which is available here.
33rd Dáil
In other Government-related news, the 33rd Dáil will convene for the first time today, Thursday, February 20.
Many new faces will be seen among the 160 TDs elected to represent the 39 constituencies in the Republic of Ireland.
However, many familiar faces will not be in attendance after having lost their seats in the election.
Two notable votes will take place in the Dáil chamber today. A vote will take place to elect the country’s next taoiseach and a vote will take place to elect the next Ceann Comhairle.