Press release

Minister Heydon awards €2.85 million to 5 successful EIP projects under the themes of Generational Renewal and Digital Technology

From: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on: 20 March 2025
Last updated on: 21 March 2025

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, is pleased to announce that funding of €2.85 million has been allocated to five new projects under the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) measure of the CAP Strategic Plan.

Three projects have been selected under the theme of Generational Renewal, while two projects have been selected under the theme of Promoting the use of Digital Technologies on Farms.

Minister Heydon said:

“I am delighted to announce five new European Innovation Partnership projects aimed at enhancing the areas of Generational Renewal and Digital Technology on Irish farms under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. The theme of Generational Renewal is a key priority for this government, with the Commission on Generational Renewal due to report its findings in June. The Digital Technologies call specifically focused on fostering the greater uptake and utilisation of digital tools and technologies to support evidence-based decision-making on Irish farms.”

The Minister continued:

“The EIP model, which is locally led and collaborative, involves farmers at each stage of the process to ensure practical outcomes and learnings which can easily be upscaled and translated into practice on farms. EIPs are an important funding model and mechanism to drive innovation at farm level, and to address local challenges.”

In conclusion, the Minister wished all of the Operational Groups every success with the rollout of these projects, and looked forward to further engagement and updates as the projects progress.

Notes

The European Innovative Partnerships (EIP) initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government under the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. Projects will run for periods of between three and five years.

The EIP initiative involves a range of stakeholders coming together to trial innovative solutions aimed at addressing challenges on Irish farms. The projects are locally-led and implemented by collaborative Operational Groups, involving farmers, scientists, ecologists and other experts, to deliver on specific goals. The EIP funding awarded will be utilised for the delivery of the project goals with the relevant stakeholders and will cover administrative and project costs.

Following an evaluation process conducted by an expert committee with reference to approved selection criteria, the following projects were approved to proceed to full implementation:

Operational Group title and members	Title of project	Objectives	Funding amount allocated
EIP Land Mobility Share Farming – The Land Mobility Service with Succession Ireland, Teagasc, Lakeland Dairies, Macra and others	Using Share Farming to Facilitate Generational Renewal	This project proposes to use and demonstrate Share Farming as an effective Generational Renewal tool and will address three key objectives of the CAP Strategic Plan; farm family income, food production recognition, and support for climate ambitions.	€301,300
Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Council (SAAC) – Lead Applicant Billy Goodburn ICOS with Teagasc, Aurivo, Dairygold and others	Renewal in Agriculture through Intergenerational Support & Empowerment (RAISE)	The RAISE (Renewal in Agriculture through Intergenerational Support & Empowerment) project aims to stimulate sustainable generational renewal in Irish agriculture by addressing the needs of both young and aging farmers. By promoting collaborative partnerships, mentorship, and skill development, RAISE seeks to overcome barriers to land access for young farmers while providing aging farmers with financial security and a legacy pathway. Through comprehensive training, a digital support platform, and a strong advisory network, the project will strengthen Ireland’s agricultural community and prepare it for a sustainable farming future.	€600,000
Ballyhoura Generational Renewal EIP – Ballyhoura Development with Teagasc, Dairygold, farm organisations, Cork and Limerick County Councils and others	Farm Forward: Connecting Generations and Farming for the Future	Facilitate generational renewal on farms, by designing and implementing innovative, farmer led, actions, that enable (i) new entrants and developing farmers to improve their competitiveness, sustainability and resilience and (ii) exiting farmers to improve their overall quality of life, familial relationships, land custodianship heritage and active citizenship and economic security.	€650,000
Oviflock – Lead applicant Eamon Wall Sheep Ireland with Teagasc, IFA and others	OviFlock Foundations for genetic improvement in Irish Hill sheep	The project aims to kick-start sheep breed improvement in Ireland’s hill sheep breeds by using novel and cutting-edge digital tools over a 5-year timeframe. Hill sheep breed improvement (genetic improvement) is not possible in Ireland at present due to an absence of routine parentage recording on our purebred hill sheep population (the source of breeding rams for all Irish hill sheep farmers annually).	€650,000
PARASCOPE -Lead Applicant Nicola Walshe University College Dublin, with Animal Health Ireland and Teagasc.	The Parasite Risk Assessment for Sustainable Co-designed On-farm Practices and Evaluation (PARASCOPE)	The Parasite Risk Assessment for Sustainable Co-designed On-farm Practices and Evaluation (PARASCOPE) project aims to bring innovative technologies into parasite control programmes, improving animal health and welfare, boosting productivity and enhancing biodiversity. This project is a combination of two applications at Phase 1 stage and will now address parasite control in both bovines and ovines, through a multi-disciplinary team approach.	€648,287

Further information on the European Innovation Partnership may be found on the department’s website at European Innovation Partnership Scheme.

Minister Heydon awards €2.85 million to 5 successful EIP projects under the themes of Generational Renewal and Digital Technology

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Minister Heydon awards €2.85 million to 5 successful EIP projects under the themes of Generational Renewal and Digital Technology

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