A new €60m European Innovation Partnership (EIP) project which will pay farmers to roll out water quality measures will target 15,000 farmers by 2027.

The measures incentivised will need to go beyond current regulatory standards and it is expected that €50m of the project’s funding will reach farmers.

The WATER EIP was awarded to the local authority waters programme (LAWPRO) to work with Teagasc, Dairy Industry Ireland and the Departments of Agriculture and Housing.

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Funding will be drawn from both CAP and the Department of Housing will contribute €10m.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said the project is an example of different players in the agri-food sector coming together to improve water quality.

“The agri-food industry is working together to improve water quality. However, there is a need to recognise farmers that invest above and beyond regulatory requirements to address specific localised water quality issues,” he commented.

“This is the largest funding that my Department has provided to a single EIP, recognising the importance of this project to enhancing sustainable agricultural practices and contributing in a significant way to improving water quality at a national level.”

Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien maintains it will be a “highly significant project” for getting best practice in place on farms.

Build on ASSAP

Head environment knowledge transfer in Teagasc, Pat Murphy stated that the project will help build on the agency's work in Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP).

“The implementation of measures to protect water from diffuse losses of nutrients and sediment is key to realising water quality improvements," he said.

"ASSAP has worked with farmers to identify areas on farms in need of action, the funding that will now be available to farmers through the Water EIP will help ensure that the right measure is put in the right place to minimise losses.”

Locally-based

The resources allocated to the project shows the scale of Government’s ambition to tackle farming pressures on water quality, according to Minister of State Pippa Hackett.

“LAWPRO’s winning proposal will take a locally-based approach, combining farm level actions with landscape features to deliver on the programme’s core aim of improving water quality and also to provide a range of ecosystem co-benefits,” said Minister Hackett.

“We know that the LAWPRO model is a model that works, for farmers and for water quality, so I am hugely excited to see what we can achieve by rolling it out at scale over the coming years.”

Her party colleague Minister of State Malcolm Noonan said the project “will provide direct support to farmers and a vital link between the EPA’s catchment science, ASSAP advice and effective farm-level measures to protect and restore our waterways".

Chair of Dairy Industry Ireland Conor Ryan added that the project represents a “huge step up of our efforts and ambition” that builds on the ASSAP water programme.