US-Ireland agri research partnership 2023 launched

The 2023 US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership in Agriculture has been launched by the Minister of State with special responsibility for research and innovation, Martin Heydon today (Friday, March 24).

The partnership brings together researchers from Ireland, north and south, and the US to tackle shared challenges and provide scientific solutions to common problems in the agri-food sector, the minister said.

In total 13 research areas such as animal breeding, health and welfare, data science, sustainability of agroecosystems, and the bioeconomy are included in the partnership.

Opening the 2023 call for proposals, Minister Heydon said that the topic of soil health has now been included, which adds a “critically important area of research especially in the context of our climate and environmental ambitions”.

“Many of the research challenges the agriculture sector is faced with are significant and require diverse teams of scientists with the necessary funding and support.

“This unique research partnership offers a fantastic opportunity for Irish researchers to collaborate with those in the US and Northern Ireland, bringing together a wide range of expertise and facilities internationally.

“I therefore urge the research community to consider making submissions to the 13 topics in this call, and I look forward to announcing the successful proposals later this year,” Minster Heydon said.

US-Ireland partnership

The call aims to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture, and support education and extension activities, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) said.

Eligible Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) from the Republic of Ireland are invited to submit joint research proposals with collaborating partners from the US and Northern Ireland.

Submissions can be made under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), which is a grants programme for agricultural science, of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Deadline

The submission deadline to the DAFM and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland is four weeks in advance of the AFRI deadline for the respective Programme Area Priority in AFRI’s 2023 Foundation Competitive Grant Programme. 

The earlier launch of the 2023 call allows time for RPOs in Ireland to network and find partners across the other jurisdictions, and to explore and develop their ideas in the research areas in advance of the deadline, the DAFM said.

The thirteen research areas in the call and the respective DAFM and DAERA and AFRI deadlines in 2023 are as follows: