EIP-AGRI
Supporting innovation, competitiveness and sustainability in agriculture and forestry.
About EIP-AGRI in Ireland
What is EIP-AGRI?
The European Innovation Partnership for Agriculture Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) is an exciting and novel approach to research and innovation. EIP-AGRI is one of five European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) launched to boost the EU’s capacity to innovate. EIP-AGRI focuses on agriculture and forestry. Other EIPs target issues related for example to healthy
EIPs are challenge-driven and focus on societal benefits and
The overall aim of EIP-AGRI relates to the pooling of expertise and resources by bringing together public and private sectors at EU, national and regional levels. EIP-AGRI works to:
- Combine supply and demand side measures
- Focus on forming partnerships, using bottom-up approaches
- Link actors in different types of interactive innovation projects such as Operational Groups (OGs) under Rural Development Programmes (RDPs).
The National Rural Network (NRN) works closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) to support and build networks between Ireland’s OGs, as well as research and disseminate information on Ireland’s EIP-AGRI projects.
Operational Groups (OGs)
EIP-AGRI Operational Groups are funded under the RDP and are project based. OGs bring together multiple actors such as:
- Farmers
- Researchers
- Farm advisers
- Environmental groups
- Other NGOs.
OGs work on projects to advance innovation in the agriculture and forestry sectors.
Read also our EIP-AGRI: Ireland’s Operational Groups 2019 Booklet.
The NRN has developed an Interactive Storyboard Database and infographic of Ireland’s EIP-AGRI OGs.
Click on the image below to visit database – or click here to view
Focus Groups
EIP-AGRI Focus Groups bring together expertise from researchers, advisors, farmers, and industry. Focus groups are:
- Designed to facilitate knowledge transfer between members
- Work to collect and assimilate knowledge on good practices in a specific area and list opportunities and solutions
- Set up at an international level bringing together 20 experts from the agriculture sector
- Temporary groups of selected experts focusing on a specific subject, sharing knowledge and experience.
Focus groups are convened over a 1 to 2 year period and each group must meet at least twice a year. At the end of the
A number of focus groups have Irish representation. Find more detail on these in the ‘Focus Group’ section below.
Operational Group Storyboard
Latest News
Hen Harrier Project Update – Monitoring Report 2021
The Hen Harrier Project is an ongoing EIP-AGRI project aiming to sustain viable Hen Harrier populations in an economically and socially sustainable model by recognising and valuing ecosystem services as an output from the farm. The project monitors the numbers of...
NUI Galway Rural Studies Centre Seminar Series 2022
The NUI Galway Rural Studies Centre Seminar Series 2022 was established in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) and provides a platform for Irish academics and key rural stakeholders to present their research or rural projects;...
Minister Hackett Congratulates All Involved in the Successful Conclusion of the Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) EIP Project
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett has published the final report for the Maximising Organic Production Systems (MOPS) EIP project. In publishing the report, which showed how through the project, eleven (11)...
Blog Posts
Reimagining Rural Futures
In this National Rural Network EIP-AGRI guest blog, Dr Brendan Dunford, Manager of the Burren Programme, explains that the role of the farmer is much more than just being a ‘food producer’, but also one that deliveries a number of agri-environmental public goods as...
Biorefinery Glas – Bringing the Bioeconomy to Irish Farms
In this National Rural Network EIP-AGRI guest blog, James Gaffey, Co-Director of the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (CIRCBIO) at Shannon ABC in IT Tralee and coordinator of the Biorefinery Glas EIP-AGRI Project, small-scale grass biorefinery demonstration project...
Should Farmers Score their Own Fields in Results Based Programmes?
In this National Rural Network EIP-AGRI guest blog, Dr Amanda Browne, Scientific and Technical Officer of the Caomhnú Árann EIP-AGRI Project, outlines the field scoring system developed for the Aran Islands (but applicable elsewhere), where farmer self-assessment is...
Are you interested in EIP-AGRI and
rural development?
Case Studies
Small Biogas Demonstration Programme (SBDP)
Project Details Geographical location (NUTS3) Midlands & Mid-West Region (IE) Main funding source Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 for Operational Groups (in the sense of Art 56 of Reg.1305/2013) Project Duration 2019 - 2023 Total...
Protecting Farmland Pollinators
Project Details Geographical location (NUTS3) Mid-East Region (IE) Main Funding Source Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 for Operational Groups (in the sense of Art 56 of Reg.1305/2013) Project Duration 2019 - 2023 Total Budget...
Duhallow Farming for Blue Dot Catchments
Project Details Geographical location (NUTS3) South-West Region (IE) Main Funding Source Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 for Operational Groups (in the sense of Art 56 of Reg.1305/2013) Project Duration 2019 - 2023 Total Budget...
Video Gallery
EIP-AGRI: Ireland’s Operational Groups 2019 Booklet
The National Rural Network team at NUI Galway have designed and produced a booklet entitled ‘EIP-AGRI: Ireland’s Operational Groups 2019’ to highlight and promote the 23 Irish EIP-AGRI Operational Groups selected by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Reports and Resources
EIP-AGRI USEFUL LINKS
Focus Groups
EIP-AGRI Focus Groups are temporary groups of selected experts focusing on a specific subject, sharing knowledge and experience. These groups bring together expertise from research, advisors, farmers, and industry. Focus Groups are set up at international level bringing together 20 experts from the agriculture sector.
See More
The groups are designed to facilitate knowledge transfer between members, to collect and assimilate knowledge on best practices in a specific area and list opportunities and solutions. Each Focus Group must meet at least twice a year. The Focus Group is convened over a 1-2 year period. At the end of the period a report is completed and the results and findings of the Focus Group are published on the EIP-AGRI website.
The following Focus Groups have Irish representation:
Agro-forestry : woody vegetation- Animal Husbandry
- Nutrient Recycling
- Dairy Production Systems
- New Entrants into Farming
- Mainstreaming Precision Farming
- Protein Crops
- Livestock Emissions
- High Nature Value (HPV) Farming Profitability
- Short Food Supply Chains
- Permanent Grassland
Read more here: www.eip-agri.ie
