Minister of State for Biodiversity and Land Use, senator Pippa Hackett has today (Tuesday, March 29) announced the opening of the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Group (KTG) scheme for 2022.
The aim of the scheme is to increase the level of forest management activity among forest owners.
Minister Hackett said: “I am delighted to reopen the Forestry KTG scheme for a fourth year. The scheme provides a very useful opportunity for forest owners to gain additional knowledge to help them manage their forests in a sustainable way over their lifetime.
“As minister for forestry, I have very ambitious plans for the sector, and we are currently developing a new Forestry Strategy and Forestry Programme.
“Key to implementing the Forestry Strategy and the Forestry Programme will be improving the forestry management knowledge of farmers and landowners, and the KTG scheme will help to drive this,” she added.
Since the scheme began four years ago, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has invested more than €1.3 million in knowledge transfer for Irish forest owners, funding over 1,500 participants.
The minister added: “The state has invested over €3 billion since 1990 in creating new forests. It is vital that this investment is realised through sustainable forest management.
“The mobilisation of this timber will create economic activity along the supply chain through activities such as harvesting, transportation, replanting and processing.
“My hope is that the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Groups will address many of the knowledge gaps among farmers and landowners that act as barriers to the mobilisation of private timber.”
Forestry Knowledge Transfer Groups
The KTGs are led by a professional forester and encourage participants to engage with forestry groups and professionals.
They operate with a bottom-up approach, with the members themselves deciding on what it is they wish to learn.
Participants have the opportunity to learn from the experts and from each others’ experiences within a discussion group setting. In addition, KTGs can be used as a vehicle to bring forest owners in contact with professional foresters.
Each KTG can have a maximum of 20 participants and each participant will need to attend seven meetings or outdoor events in order to complete the programme.
Participants in the 2018, 2019, 2020/2021 schemes will not be permitted to join a KTG in 2022.
KTG payments
KTG payments are broken down as follows:
- KTG participant – €70 per meeting attended;
- KTG organiser – €6,500 per KTG
A total of seven meetings and events will be organised per KTG – the maximum payment to each participant is €490.
Completed applications must be submitted to DAFM by 4:00p.m. on April 25, 2022.