£60m Government funding put towards food system research centres
Funding of £60 million has been allocated by UK and Irish Governments to two new research facilities set to focus on food sustainability and climate change.
As part of the Co-Centres Programme, in which researchers from Ireland and the UK come together to tackle sustainability issues, the Governments have jointly invested £60 million on two Co-Centre research facilities.
The Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems will look at how to transform the food system to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, while the Co-Centre for Climate and Biodiversity and Water will be home to research regarding climate change. The two new Co-Centres will formally commence activities on 1st January 2024, and will be funded to 2030.
The funding was announced by Ireland’s Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris, UK Government Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, and Permanent Secretary at Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Katrina Godfrey.
Minister Harris said: “Addressing climate change and achieving sustainable and resilient food systems are intertwined challenges facing us all.
“This investment in two new collaborative research centres is a major development in addressing these pressing issues in a coordinated and concerted way.
“I’m delighted to see the very best minds and methods being brought together to create a dynamic research network across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.”
The Co-Centres Programme is funded over six years, with up to €40 million from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), up to £17 million from Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and up to £12 million through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and is co-funded by industry.
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