The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., today launched an exhibition and a publication highlighting the wide variety of projects being undertaken under his Department’s EIP/locally-led schemes in Ireland. DAFM is now investing €59m in 23 of these new types of schemes. The launch took place in Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin and is designed to showcase the innovation being undertaken in the 23 selected schemes across the country.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Creed said: “We are committed to building a sustainable agricultural system that respects the environment. The agriculture sector is determined to play its part in responding to the challenges before us on climate, water quality and biodiversity. We are investing €59m in these locally-led schemes to achieve these goals at a local level by stimulating and developing innovative new approaches to tackling environmental challenges in a targeted way. This targeted approach to specific challenges in specific areas can complement our larger national agri-environmental schemes”.
The exhibition highlights the varied works undertaken by the EIP Project groups including projects on biodiversity, organic production, pollinators, water quality, flood management, soils, farming in an archaeological landscape and targeting unutilised agricultural biomass.
The exhibition is open to the public to visit before going nationwide to other DAFM offices for display there. Following its display in Dublin, the exhibition will be moving to the Department’s office in Johnstown Castle Estate in Wexford.
Concluding the Minister said: “The benefits of locally-led schemes are obvious and it starts at the design stage. This is when farmers, researchers, scientists and advisors come together in Operational Groups to address a specific local environmental issue. The final 23 selected projects are of the highest quality and came through a rigorous selection process. Now that they are up and running, we want to bring their innovation to a wider audience. There is no doubt that lessons learned here will have wider application, not least in the design of the next CAP”.
