A combined €17.8m in CAP funding has been granted to 11 new European Innovation Partnership (EIP) projects focused on farm environmental sustainability.

The co-funded projects cover themes including nature restoration, slurry management and the organic farming sector.

EIPs are locally-led pilot projects that see farmers trialling actions which could potentially be rolled out at wider scale.

“The eleven new projects receiving funding today clearly show the importance of the EIP Programme in driving innovation at farm level, and in trialling and upscaling environmentally sustainable solutions to challenges faced by farmers,” Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said.

“I look forward to engaging on these projects as they proceed over the coming years, and to seeing how they will help to inform future policy development and to address key departmental priorities in the areas of soil health, regenerative and sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and the circular and bioeconomy.”

The funding breakdown is:

  • €1,756,600 to Regen Ireland to provide dairy, beef, sheep and tillage farmers guidance, technical expertise and financial sustainability strategies to facilitate a transition to regenerative agriculture.
  • €1,562,461 to Teagasc’s Martin Bourke to trial and promote mechanical and thermal weed control technology on organic farms.

  • €1,600,000 to the Karst Farming Network to conserve the species-rich karst grassland of County Roscommon through a results-based programme.

  • €1,750,000 to SCEENE /Loop Head Together CLGn Enhancement for Excess Nutriment to use biochar from animal waste and carbon sequestering crops to restore catchments and soil health in coastal regions.
  • €1,444,000 to the Organic Beef and Lamb Innovation Group/IFAC for reducing the leakage of organic beef and lamb sectors to conventional markets, to enhance producer collaboration and address distribution challenges.
  • €1,749,481 to the South West Mayo Development Company to demonstrate and restoration actions on commonage in Mayo and Donegal.
  • €1,285,624 to Teagasc’s Ciaran Collins to improve tillage nutrient management by advocating for the strategic in-crop application of organic manures.

  • €1,669,259 to the Upper Erne Slurry Solution OG to address critical challenges associated with slurry management in the Erne Catchment area.

  • €1,447,207 to Base Ireland to restoring soil health and enhance biodiversity through regenerative agricultural practices.
  • €1,749,324 to Environmental Sustainability in Agriculture for carbon farming, nature-based solutions and active habitat management measures on extensive farms.
  • €1,764,696 to Hometree CLG for nature restoration, sustainable management and conservation of native woodland habitats on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry.