Teagasc has published a report on the impact of its research throughout 2023, with the authority highlighting developments in climate action, potato breeding and the safety of dairy products.
The report, ‘Teagasc Research Impact Highlights in 2023’, outlines some of the new impacts achieved in 2023, as well as the continuing impact of ongoing research.
According to Teagasc, it has developed a specific framework on how to evaluate the impact of its own research.
Commenting on this framework, Teagasc director of research, Prof. Pat Dillon said: “This framework provides a structure to describe how Teagasc’s activities contribute to impact in the agri-food sector through three interconnected impact pathways: technology development and adoption; capacity building; and policy influencing.”
On climate action, Teagasc said that since the launch of its Climate Action Strategy in late 2022, many of its research impacts necessarily pertain to the climate.
The authority said that its impact statement on refining emissions from peat soils has influenced policy by reducing emissions to 3.9MT CO2 equivalent (CO2eq).
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from grassland peat soils were previously estimated at approximately 9MT CO2eq per annum, making this the highest-emitting category from the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector.
This estimate was based on assumptions regarding the drainage status of these soils. Teagasc’s research highlighted the nature of these assumptions and proposed refined emissions estimates, which have been incorporated into the updated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Inventory Report, Teagasc said.
These estimates have “significantly altered the wider understanding of the emission profile and the management of these soils, currently and into the future”, Teagasc claimed.
On sustainable potato breeding, Teagasc said that it provided research to help deal with potato cyst nemotodes (PCN), two species of which have infested 50% of Europe’s potato land area.
With demand for resistant potato varieties increasing, the impact statement on sustainable potato cyst nematode control through targeted breeding contributed to the development of sustainable systems to grow resistant varieties while reducing pesticide use, according to Teagasc.
The authority also said its research contributed to reducing chlorates residues in milk, through its paper on the evaluation of effectiveness of minimum chlorate technologies.
According to Teagasc, this paper contributed to increasing technology development and adoption by evaluating chlorine-free detergents in the dairy industry.
Prof. Dillon commented: “Ensuring our research delivers real impact for our stakeholders is a key priority for Teagasc.
“Teagasc is extremely fortunate to have an outstanding core of scientists, supported by top-class technical, farm, advisory, specialist and administration staff, whose work contributes to our collective research output and impact,” he added.