Press release
Minister Heydon launches the 2023 US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership in Agriculture
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for research and innovation, Martin Heydon, today announced the opening of the 2023 Call for Proposals in Agriculture under the US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership.
Making the announcement, Minister Heydon stated:
“The US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership has been instrumental in bringing together researchers from Ireland, North and South, and the United States, to tackle shared challenges and provide scientific solutions to common problems in the agri-food sector.
“The scope of this Partnership has been expanded and now covers 13 research areas such as animal breeding, health and welfare, data science, sustainability of agroecosystems and the bioeconomy. I am pleased that a new topic, that of ‘Soil Health’, has been included in this 2023 Call, which adds a critically important area of research especially in the context of our climate and environmental ambitions.”
The 2023 US-Ireland R&D Partnership Call in Agriculture aims to advance knowledge in both fundamental and applied sciences important to agriculture, and support education and extension activities. The call invites eligible Research Performing Organisations from the Republic of Ireland to submit joint research proposals, with collaborating partners from the USA and Northern Ireland, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
The Minister also remarked:
“Many of the research challenges the agriculture sector is faced with are significant and require diverse teams of scientists with the necessary funding and support. This unique research partnership offers a fantastic opportunity for Irish researchers to collaborate with those in the United States and Northern Ireland bringing together a wide range of expertise and facilities internationally.
“I therefore urge the research community to consider making submissions to the 13 topics in this Call, and I look forward to announcing the successful proposals later this year."
The call invites eligible Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) from the Republic of Ireland to submit joint research proposals, with collaborating partners from the USA and Northern Ireland, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The submission deadline to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland is four weeks in advance of the stated AFRI deadline for the respective Programme Area Priority in AFRI’s 2023 Foundation Competitive Grant Programme.
The submission deadline to DAFM and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland is four weeks in advance of the stated NIFA deadline for the respective Programme Area Priority in AFRI’s 2023 Foundation Competitive Grant Programme.
The earlier launch of the 2023 Agriculture Call allows time for RPOs in Ireland to network and find partners across the other jurisdictions, and to explore and develop their ideas in the research areas on offer under the Call in advance of the submission deadline in 2023.
The thirteen research areas in the Call and the respective DAFM/DAERA and AFRI deadlines in 2023 are as follows.
| Programme Area Priority in AFRI 2023 RFA | DAFM/DAERA Deadline | AFRI Deadline |
| Pests and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Production Systems (A1112) | 24/08/2023 | 21/09/2023 |
| Animal Nutrition, Growth, and Lactation (A1231) | 14/07/2023 | 10/08/2023 |
| Welfare of Agricultural Animals (A1251) | 14/07/2023 | 10/08/2023 |
| Diseases of Agricultural Animals (A1221) | 14/07/2023 | 10/08/2023 |
| Animal Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics (A1201) | 14/07/2023 | 10/08/2023 |
| Mitigating Antimicrobial Resistance Across the Food Chain (A1366) | 24/08/2023 | 21/09/2023 |
| Soil Health (A1401) | 17/08/2023 | 14/09/2023 |
| Sustainable Bioeconomy through Biobased Products (A1414) | 10/08/2023 | 07/09/2023 |
| Sustainable Agroecosystems: Health, Functions, Processes and Management (A1451) | 17/08/2023 | 14/09/2023 |
| Biorefining and Biomanufacturing (A1531) | 31/08/2023 | 28/09/2023 |
| Agricultural Microbiomes in Plant Systems and Natural Resources (A1402) | 07/09/2023 | 05/10/2023 |
| Data Science for Food and Agricultural Systems (DSFAS) (A1541) | 19/10/2023 | 16/11/2023 |
| Inter-Disciplinary Engagement in Animal Systems (IDEAS) (A1261) | 07/09/2023 | 05/10/2023 |
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) is the leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences in the US. Since 2016 the scope of the Partnership has included agriculture whereby researchers in eligible institutions in Ireland and Northern Ireland can link with a US-based researcher to submit research funding applications to annual Calls launched by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
More information about the 2023 Call is available at the following link: Call Information: US-Ireland Research and Development Partnership.
The department’s funding of successful projects under the US-Ireland R&D Partnership Calls comes from the department’s competitive Research Programme.