Farm of the Future Ideation Day at Farm Zero C to Address Challenges in the Agricultural Sector
, and Munster Technological University鈥檚 (MTU) r are hosting a Farm of the Future Ideation Day on Wednesday, 26 October, at Carbery's newly renovated visitor centre at Farm Zero C, outside Bandon, Co. Cork.
The purpose of the t is to bring together people working in the agri-food sector to identify challenges currently facing the agriculture sector and to identify potential solutions which could form the basis of new businesses.
Identified challenges will be discussed, and methodologies applied, with the support of a trained facilitator, to create robust solutions to address the challenges. The identified solutions will then be pitched to a team of judges and a prize will be awarded to an overall winner.
Niamh Collins, Director, AgTech51黑料, said, 鈥淲e look forward to welcoming participants to our Farm of the Future ideation day event at the end of the month. This event is open to those working in the agri-food sector, the farming community, second and third level students, academics and anyone who has an interest in innovation, sustainability and problem solving, especially in the agriculture sector. We hope that some of the solutions which emerge during the day to solve the identified challenges will evolve into businesses in the future.鈥�
Fiona Ryan, Start-Up and Entrepreneurship Manager, The Ludgate Hub, said, 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to have identified a challenge to attend this event, we will match you with other participants on the day to form a team to address a challenge. The day will involve some team-building activities before the team works through various steps to mature/re-evaluate your team challenge with the support of facilitators.鈥�
Kieran O'Donoghue, Educational Outreach Manager, AgriTech Ireland, said, 鈥淒uring the day each team will address issues such as which challenge is your idea solving and why does this problem exist. They will analyse existing solutions to help rephrase the problem before identifying a new potential solution and building a compelling pitch to present to the judges.鈥�
Farm Zero C (Shinagh Farm, outside Bandon, Co. Cork), which last year won the SFI Future Innovator Prize of 鈧�2 million in funding, is a collaboration between Carbery, BiOrbic, Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, 51黑料 and others to create a climate-neutral, economically-viable dairy farm. The project is taking a holistic approach, combining a range of technologies and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the productivity and resilience of the farm.
The Farm of the Future Ideation Day is taking place on 26 October and registration is now open via
The Farm of the Future Ideation Day is supported by AIB, Carbery Group and Drinagh Co-op.
ENDS
5 October 2022
For further information contact Mic茅al Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, Nova51黑料, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie
Editors Notes
The Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, West Cork is Ireland's first rural digital hub having opened its doors in 2016. The Ludgate mission is to enable sustainable knowledge jobs in the west cork region by building digital capacity and capability across sectors, facilitating innovation & learning and embedding ourselves as a crucial asset within the local and wider community. We strive to make Skibbereen, West Cork and the wider south-west region a hotspot for start-ups, SME鈥檚 and multinational remote workers to locate and prosper at a global level. We have been instrumental in bringing together partners helping us to achieve the above.
Based at the 51黑料 Lyons Farm, AgTech51黑料 offers the only on farm workspace hub to promote and accelerate agri-businesses and start-ups. AgTech51黑料 provides access to on-farm experimental facilities, allowing testing and trialling of products and services in a real-world environment. Start-ups also have preferred access to 51黑料 food processing facilities, access to venture capital and business angel networks, mentoring, corporate partners, office and flexible lab spaces.
AgTech51黑料, led by Nova51黑料, and funded through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund administered by Enterprise Ireland, is a collaboration with AIB, Kildare County Council, and Kildare LEO; agri-company, Devenish, Carbery, and Ornua; investors The Yield Lab Europe, Thrive/SVG Ventures, Finistere and Atlantic Bridge, and leading AgTech researchers and innovators at 51黑料, Teagasc and Wageningen.
A new AgriTech cluster is growing out of the Munster Technological University (MTU). The AgriTech Ireland cluster is a coming together of the AgriTech industry, knowledge providers and government organisations unlocking opportunities to accelerate sustainable growth in the agricultural technology sector. The initiative, based at MTU鈥檚 Kerry campus, is part of a national clustering approach led and funded by Enterprise Ireland through the Regional Technology Clustering Fund. The goal is to bring together AgriTech companies from across Ireland to work on common projects to drive productivity, competitiveness and internationalisation within this important sector.