National Agricultural Sustainability Research and Innovation Centre
The National Agricultural Sustainability Research and Innovation Centre (NASRIC) is currently under construction at Teagasc Johnstown Castle and is due to be open in early 2025. This Centre will expand and enhance the current Teagasc Research and Innovation activities at the Teagasc Environment Research Centre.
Impression of the new National Agricultural Sustainability Research and Innovation Centre (NASRIC)
The Centre will focus on the development, testing and implementation of innovative technologies to facilitate farmers to combine economic and environmental sustainability. NASRIC will provide practical integrated solutions for farmers and other stakeholders to:
- improve soil health
- restore and protect biodiversity
- improve water quality
- reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and ammonia
- enhance soil carbon sequestration
The Centre will provide technical support to policy makers and the wider agri-food and land-use sectors to achieve sustainability targets. It will accommodate up to 85 staff, consisting of research scientists, technical and support staff, to undertake the research necessary to underpin the sustainability of the sector
Laboratories
The laboratories are being equipped with cutting edge instrumentation across the areas of soil, crop, water and gaseous emissions. The research programme utilises a range of state of the art field facilities including dairy, beef, forestry and agro-forestry research trials and component facilities including long term soil fertility experiments, the national lysimeter platform and climate change control rooms. Research is carried out at larger scales via the Agricultural Catchments Programme, the National Soil Carbon Observatory and the national soil archive and database which are needed to upscale research.
Pictured turning the sod in 2021 at the site of the National Agricultural Sustainability Research and Innovation Centre (NASRIC) being established at Teagasc Johnstown Castle, County Wexford are Liam Herlihy, Teagasc Chairman; Charlie McConalogue TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Professor Frank O Mara, Teagasc Director.