Technology has the Potential to Revolutionise Irish Agriculture
A Teagasc ICT Conference took place in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin today Friday 26th Februray Pictured at the event were Prof Gerry Boyle, Teagasc , Richard Howell, DAFM, Dr John Bell, EU Commission, and Dr Frank O Mara, Director of Research Teagasc.
The Teagasc ICT Agri Seminar opened in Dublin this morning, Friday, 26 February. Speaking in the Aviva Stadium, Professor Gerry Boyle Director of Teagasc said: “ICT and digital technologies have transformed many sectors of our economy and of our lives, from transport, logistics and manufacturing to music and books. The same potential exists in the agriculture sector. Digital Technologies for Sensing, Analytics and Automation are some of the key emerging technologies with the potential to revolutionise the future of Irish agriculture. Already some of that potential is being realised, as shown here today. But this is only a taster of what could be achievable in the future.”
Today’s event has brought together end users, industry, research performers and research funders, to identify the current state of the art technologies in use, address upcoming challenges and look to future opportunities.
In recent years, Teagasc has put in place a number of key building blocks which will provide a basis for future development of digital agriculture solutions In Ireland. These include the Teagasc National Farm Survey, PastureBase Ireland, Soils Information System and Teagasc NMP-online.
As well as developing the building blocks for future solutions, Teagasc has developed a series of partnerships with complementary groupings like the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), Tyndall National Institute, and the Waterford Institute of Technology’s Telecommunication Software and Systems Group (TSSG).
Teagasc’s membership of the ICT-AGRI Era-NET has been a major catalyst for the development of research lines in the area of digital agriculture. The grouping of research funders and leading research performers from across Europe has allowed Teagasc to tap into high level expertise and to contribute to a European Strategic Research Agenda in this area.