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Funding of €2.2m has been confirmed for two projects that will focus on finding better ways to manage on-farm drained peat soils in the midlands, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett has announced.
The two projects were selected following an open call under the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) initiative and will be funded under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-202I.
The two groups selected were Wetland Surveys Ireland and Green Restoration Ireland.
Minister Hackett said: “Managing our soils in a way that captures and stores carbon can have huge climate benefits and projects like these, which involve close collaboration between scientists, ecologists and farmers, will deliver those benefits.
“By working closely with the farmers, I know that these EIPs will co-develop measures to guide a future large-scale scheme to manage these soils.”
Carbon capture
The objectives of the projects are to protect the carbon stock and restore sequestration, maximise other eco-system benefits and build resilience to the impacts of climate change at catchment or landscape level.
These projects follow on from the recent investment in a National Soil Carbon Observatory and will develop knowledge towards rewarding farmers who capture carbon.
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