On the 23rd of May 2022, the Minister of State with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, Senator Pippa Hackett, launched the Kerry Eco-Social Farming European Innovation Partnership (EIP). The Kerry Eco-Social Farming project was successful under Call 5 of the EIP-AGRI projects which seeks to build links between the promotion of biodiversity and farmers, local communities and the wider public.
The Kerry Eco-Social Farming EIP project has evolved from the Kerry Social Farming (KSF) initiative, which is a locally led project first established in 2013 by South Kerry Development Partnership. It works with host farmers, participants from disability services and their support workers, as well as the wider community to enhance biodiversity on farms and develop understanding of biodiversity related topics to a wide range of stakeholder groups.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of State, Pippa Hackett outlined that:
“building on the successes of the Kerry Social Farming initiative, the Kerry Eco-Social Farming EIP incorporates three key elements to increase biodiversity across our rural landscape and within our communities; namely creation, engagement, and monitoring. By integrating these key elements, this project will ensure active engagement with farmers and the wider community. This ultimately will facilitate the continued and enhanced delivery of the ecosystem services we all rely on for healthy lives, including clean water, carbon storage and biodiversity.”
More details on the launch are available here.
