The funding will be provided to researchers in four Irish research organisations collaborating with European partners under the European Joint Programme (EJP) Soil programme. EJP-Soil is exploring ways to enhance the contribution of agricultural soils to climate change mitigation and adaptation, and biodiversity enhancement, by providing knowledge on soil health and management practices.
Speaking on the announcement of the awards, Minister Heydon stated: “Soil is the foundation of everything we do in agriculture. Food Vision 2030 highlights that soil is critical in terms of agricultural output, producing healthy food, sequestering carbon, and supporting habitats and biodiversity.
“The research we are funding will be highly relevant to Ireland, covering areas such as carbon sequestration, soil health and the role of soils in mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases. I want to commend the researchers involved for their success in these competitive research calls and for their contribution to an innovative and resilient agri-food sector.”
The Minister also used the occasion of World Soil Day to announce the creation of a new ‘Soil Mission Mirror Group’ in Ireland. The focus of the mirror group will be to maximise Irelands participation in the Horizon Europe Mission ‘A Soil deal for Europe’, to which the EU has allocated over €142m for the 2023-2024 work programme.
Concluding his series of announcements to mark World Soil Day, Minister Heydon also unveiled an expansion of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership to include the topic of ‘Soil Health’. Minister Heydon remarked: “The US-Ireland R&D partnership has proven to be very successful to date. This expansion will ensure that researchers from across Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United States can collaborate on projects that seek to deepen our understanding of the factors influencing, protecting and enhancing soil health.”