The 2024 Ireland – New Zealand (NZ) joint research call on agriculture and climate change has opened for proposals.
In the third year of a three-year pilot joint research initiative, the research call was opened today by Minister of State with special responsibility for research at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon.
The DAFM and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries launched the first call in 2022 as part of a three-year pilot joint research initiative.
This year’s research call, according to the DAFM, aims to investigate and accelerate research in the areas of national inventory refinement and improvement.
There will also be a focus on researching technologies for the mitigation of greenhouses gas emissions, and data and digitalisation in support of climate actions in Ireland and NZ.
Speaking at the launch today (Wednesday, April 10) Minister Heydon said he was “delighted” to announce the launch of the joint research call.
Minister Heydon said: “Since it began in 2022, over €14 million has been awarded to eight projects by my department and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries.
“Now in its third year, the continued development of this pilot initiative is testament to the constructive approach between our two countries to invest and collaborate in research that advances solutions for mitigating agriculture’s impact on the climate.
“The commitment of €3 million towards this call, is evidence of Ireland’s unwavering support for critical research and capacity building in areas that underpin the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture now and in the future.
“Therefore, I strongly encourage Irish researchers to apply in support of our shared climate objectives,” he added.
New Zealand’s Minister of Agriculture, Todd McClay said: “Agriculture is at the heart of both the Ireland and NZ economies, which makes us natural partners.
“Together we can make a step-change in research efforts to help drive down agricultural emissions, grow the value of our primary products, and tackle common challenges facing our agri-food sectors.
“I encourage researchers in Ireland and New Zealand to get behind this third call for the joint research initiative by submitting their applications,” Minister McClay said.
Ireland and NZ joint research call
The third call under the joint research initiative is now open and will close on June 6, 2024.
It invites eligible research performing organisations (RPOs) from Ireland to submit joint research proposals, with collaborating partners from NZ.
There will be three research topics in the call:
- Inventory refinement and improvement;
- The development and assessment of greenhouse gas mitigating technologies;
- Digitalization and standardisation of data to support climate mitigation.
The Irish financial support for the 2024 Ireland-NZ joint research call is being provided through the DAFM research programme.