EIT Climate-KIC joins forces with the Government of Ireland to stimulate climate innovation in the agri-food sector 

Ireland, 30 March 2022 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Marine of Ireland is partnering with EIT Climate-KIC to invest €2 million to support national climate action in the agriculture and food sector. The strategic partnership with EIT Climate-KIC was announced by Ministers McConalogue and Heydon on 30 March 2022 and will support the country’s mission to reach climate neutrality by 2050. 

Building on EIT Climate-KIC’s Deep Demonstration methodology, the two-year initiative will develop a portfolio of innovation actions across the entire value chain, from soil to farm to fork.  

“The new Climate Action Plan and the Food Vision 2030 Strategy have set a challenging agenda for the agri-food sector. Reducing emissions by 22-30 per cent by 2030 and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 will require new and innovative approaches by all stakeholders. I believe that this partnership with EIT Climate-KIC has the potential to bring new, innovative thinking across the sector, whilst supporting our ambitions and setting the sector on an accelerated pathway of climate action,” said Minister Charlie McConalogue. 

“EIT Climate-KIC is excited to be partnering with the Irish Government to tackle their ambitious agenda and meet their climate targets. We aim to help Ireland become a world-leader in developing a sustainable and regenerative bio-economy by bringing our expertise in systems innovation to the table. This will involve working with stakeholders from public, private, non-governmental and higher education sectors, and across the entire agri-food and bio-based value chain, to introduce and deploy a portfolio of actions, along with public and private investment, to meet the challenges and opportunities of climate action,” said Dr Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of EIT Climate-KIC. 

The partnership will initially map the Irish agri-food system to understand and position existing public and private sector partners and their initiatives.  Further steps will then create a framework to connect and integrate actors, and introduce new innovation actions across business, the public sector and communities. A key step will see the partnership identify opportunities to raise and deploy grant funding and private investment capital to support the innovation efforts. 

“The solutions developed and tested will assist our farmers, rural communities and the wider agri-food and biobased sector to build resilient approaches and solutions to the challenges of climate change and environmental sustainability. I believe partnerships such as this will bring new thinking and novel approaches and I look forward to seeing these outcomes over the coming two years,” added Minister Charlie McConalogue. 

 
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