With increasing pressures facing today’s farmers, an entrepreneurial mindset is undoubtedly required in abundance. For Macra’s thriving community of young farmers, this commonly translates to finding new and innovative ways to use technology.

It was recently found that over 80% of Irish farmers now use some form of agritech to accelerate operations, according to a report from ifac.

In particular, for Ireland’s many small family farms, this means turning to technology to improve their yields and profitability.

Partnership

Empowering this entrepreneurial movement, Macra has announced a partnership with the RISE Community Fund, supported by National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for delivering the Government’s National Broadband Plan.

Announced at Macra’s annual conference held in Co Tipperary on Sunday 30 October, the partnership will see RISE award 10 grants of €1,000 each to successful applicants.

David McCourt, the globally renowned technology entrepreneur who is the chairman of NBI and founder of RISE, commented: “We’re calling on Macra’s young farmers who have ideas about how they can use technology to scale their ambition and improve the operations and output of their farm.

“As a global leader in agriculture, we know that Ireland boasts some of the most talented farmers in the world and we’re hoping to champion those who have plans to use technology in new and innovative ways with the support of these cash grants.”

Applications for the cash grants opened on 1 November and close on 30 November 2022. Macra members are encouraged to visit the Macra website for more details, or head to riseglobalfoundation.com.

Mick Curran, chief executive of Macra, commented: “Last year, we were delighted to announce a partnership agreement with NBI, endorsing its role delivering the country’s National Broadband Plan, which is set to connect over 65,000 farms in the country to high-speed fibre broadband.

“We’re thrilled to now be taking this to the next level, partnering with RISE and NBI to offer our members the opportunity to receive cash grants to empower young farmers with their plans to use technology. This is really going to accelerate exciting use cases.”

The application process has been made quick and easy, and successful applicants will be notified by early December, with money following in quick succession.