The Minister for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs, Edwin Poots MLA, and his Republic of Ireland counterpart, Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine have formally launched the All-Island Food Integrity Initiative (FOOD-I) – in which Queen’s University Belfast will play a leading role.
The new network consolidates food-systems expertise on the island of Ireland, bringing together key academic, industry and government stakeholders to realise a step-change in the sustainability, security and integrity of the food system.
The ‘All-Island Agri-Food Research Ecosystem Mapping Report’ was also launched at the event. The report is the first of its kind ever to be completed for the island of Ireland and maps the agri-food research ecosystem across the entire island for publicly funded research awarded between 2015 and 2020.
FOOD-I is co-ordinated under a partnership between Queen’s, the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Ulster University, Teagasc, UCD, UCC and NUI Galway. The network will provide evidence-based solutions for industry and government, develop disruptive new technologies and drive behaviour change among all actors along the foodchain in the shared island food system. For more visit foodintegrityisland.com/
