Teagasc Technology Foresight Report Presented to EU Commissioner

The Technology Foresight Project involved consultation with over 200 experts and industry stakeholders to identify the technologies which will transform the Irish agri-food and bioeconomy sector over the next twenty years.

The conference was opened by Dr Noel Cawley, Teagasc Chairman, who said: “The Teagasc foresight report has identified the technologies that will shape the farms and food companies of 2035 as farmers embrace the scientific understanding and knowledge that is continuously emerging from research. Farming and food processing is becoming smarter as more data emerges.”

 

One of the central focusses of the conference is the Teagasc Foresight Poster Exhibition. Five technology themes were identified as being the priorities for Irish research and innovation in the coming years and each one is depicted on a single poster:
1. Plant and Animal Genomics and Related Technologies
2. Human, Animal and Soil Microbiota
3. Digital Technologies
4. New Technologies for Food Processing
5. Transformation in the Food Value Chain System

 

Teagasc Director, Professor Gerry Boyle, said: “New technical developments are emerging at an increasingly fast pace and progress is happening across a broad spectrum of technologies. These developments will allow the European agricultural sector to tackle the challenges of climate change, wider sustainability concerns, on farm productivity, living standards in rural areas and the quality of the food produced.”

 

Teagasc Director of Research, Dr Frank O’Mara said that one of the features of the technologies is the need for partnership to ensure their implementation. “New partnerships will be necessary at industry level, for instance between food and ICT businesses, and new research partnerships that bring about a convergence of disciplines will be needed to ensure the needed transformations of the agri-food sector can happen.”