By Dan Walsh
The new Teagasc National Agricultural Sustainability Research and Innovation Centre (NASRIC) at Johnstown Castle were officially opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, on Friday.
Set within the Johnstown Castle campus the 2000 m2 state-of-the-art laboratories represents a significant national investment of €12.7 million and a strong commitment to improving the sustainability of the Irish agriculture.
Building on decades of world-class research conducted at Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, the new laboratories at NASRIC will further support research excellence in water quality, soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, carbon farming, nutrient efficiency and farmland biodiversity to provide tools and actions for sustainability on Irish farms.
Speaking at the opening, Minister Martin Heydon TD said; “The investment in this facility at Teagasc demonstrates Ireland’s leadership in science-based solutions for sustainable agriculture. The work carried out here will be critical in helping our farmers produce high-quality food while protecting our natural resources and meeting climate targets.”
Professor Frank O’Mara, Teagasc Director, highlighted the importance of this new facility at Teagasc: “Research at Teagasc Johnstown Castle has long been synonymous with soil science and environmental research and the expansion of research laboratories with NASRIC builds on that proud heritage. These facilities will expand capacity in research and innovation at Teagasc and enhance the Teagasc Climate Centre’s research and innovation activities in support of meeting sectoral targets around climate and biodiversity.”
Reflecting on the significance for Johnstown Castle, Head of the Teagasc Environment, Soils and Land Use Department, Dr. Karen Daly said; “Today represents an investment in people and collaboration and will enhance the ability of research and technical staff at Johnstown Castle to continue to deliver excellence in their work for Teagasc.’’
Head of Enterprise at Teagasc Johnstown Castle, Dr. David Wall, emphasised that the research outputs from Teagasc Johnstown Castle are critical to support farmers and the agricultural industry to enhance the resilience of their soils and production systems while protecting the environment.
“These new research laboratories and the cutting-edge analytical instruments within them, are being used by the researchers to identify solutions to many challenges and to develop technologies and practices being adopted on farms now and in the future,” concluded Dr. Wall.
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