Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are being used for a number of purposes by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon outlined this week that AI is used in the administration of farm support schemes to detect and contain data breaches, and also during the determination of eligible land using the Area Monitoring System (AMS).

The use of the AMS to monitor area-based schemes in EU member states became mandatory on January 1, 2023.

"The AMS is the regular and systematic observation and assessment of agricultural activities and practices on agricultural areas by Copernicus Sentinel Satellite data," the minister said.

"The system monitors all land parcels declared by farmers on their Basic Income Support for Sustainability applications."

Uses of AI

Minister Heydon said that all current and future AI use cases are subject to human review, data protection and governance measures.

"My department is committed to ensuring that any use of AI is informed by an assessment of any potential human rights and equality implications, with a need for careful management in accordance with privacy and broader ethical and legal frameworks," he added.

Much of the AI use by the department is for the function of research and development.

Some of the uses of AI technologies by DAFM include in predicting the likelihood of TB outbreaks, and image analysis for identifying species susceptible to H5NI (bird flu).

Other uses include analysis for identifying risk factors for microbial food safety, tracing risk factors within the agri-food supply chain, and customer segmentation analysis for developing agri-food policies.

AI strategy

AI adoption has surged in Ireland in recent years.

Ireland first produced its National AI Strategy in 2021, which set out how the country could be an international leader in its use to benefit the economy and society.

A refresh of this strategy published last year takes account of the significant developments in AI technology and regulation since the original strategy was published.