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Researchers at Maynooth University have received Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funding for an innovative agriculture project to support sustainable soil health.
SFI’s National Challenge Fund has awarded €243,000 to researchers from the Departments of Biology and Electronic Engineering to advance this innovative project.
The project, DNet4SSoils, aims to improve the long-term health of soils in the context of a changing climate and support low-input agriculture, reducing farmers’ need for fertilizer.
Over the next 18 months, the MU team will work with the Irish Organic Association to create a new low-cost technology platform that will enable famers to evaluate their land in more detail than currently possible.
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One of 25 teams competing in the final two National Challenges, the MU team will compete in the Future Food Systems Challenge that gives academic research teams a unique opportunity to contribute to Ireland’s efforts in creating sustainable, productive and resilient food systems.
Speaking at the launch of the National Challenge Fund, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD said: “This kind of solutions-driven research will help us to tackle the big societal changes we face as we become a green and digital country, and I am already looking forward to the years ahead as we see the projects advance.”
The National Challenge Fund is supported by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.