Four Irish research organisations, including Teagasc, that are collaborating with European partners on soil-related research are to receive new funding totaling €1.5 million.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon, announced details of the funding boost today (Monday, December 5) on World Soil Day.
The annual initiative is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) which will also launch a global report at a hybrid event in Rome, Italy today.
Minister Heydon said the €1.5 million funding package will be awarded to six research projects based at University College Dublin, University of Limerick, the National University of Ireland Maynooth and Teagasc.
The DAFM has outlined details of the projects, the project titles and its funding contributions to them:
- Soil management effects on soil organic matter properties and carbon sequestration – SOMPACs (DAFM – €247,344, Total – €996,000);
- Symbiotic solutions for healthy agricultural landscapes – SOIL-HEAL (DAFM – €244,936, Total – €1,319,000);
- Development of Synbiotics for enhancing the soil microbiome – SoilSynbiotics (DAFM – €246,000, Total – €720,000);
- True SOC Sequestration: Understanding Trade-offs and Dynamic Interactions Between SOC stocks and GHG (greenhouse gas) Emissions for Climate-Smart Agri-Soil Management – TRUESOIL (DAFM – €250,000, Total – €2,040,000);
- The effect of conservation agriculture interventions on greenhouse gas emissions – CropGas (DAFM – €124,640, Total – €1,028,000);
- Impact of long-term phosphorus additions on carbon sequestration and nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils – ICONICA (DAFM – €373,655, Total – €1,364,000).
EJP Soil
The research organisations are all participating in the European Joint Programme ‘EJP Soil’ which brings together 26 partners from 24 European countries to conduct relevant research in Europe.
Minister Heydon said the research projects, funded by the DAFM, “will be highly relevant to Ireland” and will cover areas such as carbon sequestration, soil health and the role of soils in mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases.
“Soil is the foundation of everything we do in agriculture,” he said.
“Food Vision 2030 highlights that soil is critical in terms of agricultural output, producing healthy food, sequestering carbon, and supporting habitats and biodiversity.”
The Minister of State at the DAFM also chose World Soil Day as the backdrop to announce two other initiatives today, including the establishment of a new ‘Soil Mission Mirror Group’ in Ireland.
This group will include representatives involved in soil research and will be coordinated and chaired by the DAFM research division.
The group will focus on the Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil deal for Europe’ which the European Union has allocated more than €142 million to for 2023-2024.
Minister Heydon also said the US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership, which was established as a result of the Northern Ireland peace process, will be extended to include the topic of soil health.