Funding of €37.5 million will be announced today (Thursday, April 30) for investment in research in agri-food, forestry and the bioeconomy.

The funding will be announced by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon and Minister of State for research and development Noel Grealish.

The funding will be allocated to 30 projects to support research across 19 institutes.

Key areas of focus include innovation and value-add in the food sector while addressing healthy diets; improving water quality; enhancing biodiversity; tackling climate change; strengthening animal health and welfare; and advancing farm safety.

Commenting on the funding, Minister Heydon said: "This €37.5 million in awards is an investment in the future of Ireland's agri-food, forest and bioeconomy sectors.

"Cutting-edge research and innovation are essential to ensuring that these sectors remain competitive, resilient and sustainable in the years ahead.

According to the minister, the projects to receive funding cover areas including healthy ageing; improving water quality; new approaches to tracking and controlling TB; and a study testing feed additives for reduced methane over an animal's lifetime.

Also commenting on the research funding, Minister Grealish said: "This €37.5 million research programme brings together leading scientists, research institutions and industry partners, ensuring that outcomes are both scientifically robust and directly applicable in real-world settings.

"Collaboration is at the heart of this investment. I am delighted to see that the projects will involve the education and training of over 90 postgraduate students and over 60 contract researchers, thus ensuring a continuous stream of highly skilled scientific talent coming through to our industry," Minister Grealish added.

As part of the North-South co-operation on agri-food research and innovation, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland has collaborated in this research call, and will provide co-funding of €3.1 million to enable research performing organisations in Northern Ireland to participate in projects with partners in Ireland.

A total of six projects will benefit from the collaboration with DAERA.

Commenting on the collaboration, Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir said: "The projects being launched today reflect our shared commitment to science that is innovative, collaborative and impactful; science that informs policy, supports innovation, and delivers real benefits for sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, and rural communities.

"DAERA is proud to co-fund this programme and to work closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine to maximise the return on public investment and build the scientific capability needed to meet current and future priorities," Minister Muir added.