Four Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centres are set to share in a €104 million investment boost, including one that aims to improve dairy production and processing.
The VistaMilk Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre, which specialises in “developing and deploying digital technology” to improve dairy production and processing, has been earmarked for a multi-million euro funding injection.
According to the Minister for Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, this latest investment in the centre will, over the next six years, help to “improve the sustainability and competitiveness of dairy production and processing in Ireland”.
“This progress will help to secure a sustainable food system that delivers safe and nutritious dairy products, positively impacts the environment and safeguards viable livelihoods for primary producers and rural communities,” the minister added.
His department has committed more than €8.7 million in co-funding to the SFI Research Centre programme.
Dairy research
The VistaMilk SFI Research Centre is funded by SFI and the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM)
Based at Teagasc Moorepark, Fermoy, its key aim is to “develop new, and advance existing electronic monitoring and actuation technologies” to transform Ireland’s dairy sector into a global leader in sustainable agri-tech.
Another objective of the centre is also to link the agri-food industry with 14 research institutes and over 50 industry partners in “a large-scale innovation ecosystem”.
Science research
Meanwhile, the other three centres to benefit in the new founding round include; BiOrbic Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre; FutureNeuro SFI Research Centre for Neurological Diseases and I-Form SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.
An additional €21 million in funding has been committed by the four SFI centres’ industry partners.
According to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan, the latest investment boost is thanks to “close collaboration between individual researchers, research teams, research institutions, industry and government departments”.
The minister added: “The bioeconomy, agrifood, and manufacturing are each critically important to how we function as individuals and how we develop our economy.
“While significant scientific advances have been made in these areas by Ireland’s research ecosystem, we need to remain vigilant in addressing challenges old and new, and turning these opportunities into real world impacts that people can see and feel.”