The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D. today announced the results of the second competitive Open Call to select proposals to proceed to the full implementation phase of the European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP). Projects developed under the EIP initiative are developed by Operational Groups which will be funded under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020.
The Minister commented “This is the culmination of the second Open Call under the EIP initiative and I am delighted announce this selection of 9 new projects. With the 12 projects chosen under the first Open Call, the Hen Harrier Programme and the Freshwater Pearl Mussel Programme, my Department has now brought EIP 23 projects to implementation stage. This is an exciting development and I wish all the groups well in their work of design and rolling out these schemes over the coming years.
This latest range of projects selected under EIP will address challenges such as biodiversity, pollination, bio energy and sustainability, and will further demonstrate the creativity and resourcefulness that is abundant in Ireland’s rural sector.”
The Minister added “Another €10m is now being allocated to 9 new EIPs that have come through a competitive selection process. This brings the amount of funding made available to EIP projects to €57 million. These projects are bottom-up, and will be designed and run by organisation groups, with the support of my Department. These projects offer an exciting opportunity to help us to build on the success of the agri-food sector in recent years, and to address some of the remaining challenges with fresh approaches.”
