Government opens new Knowledge Transfer Programme

by | Jul 28, 2023 | Agriculture, CAP, Farmers | 0 comments

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D, and Minister of State, Martin Heydon T.D., announced the opening of the Knowledge Transfer Programme under Ireland’s 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan.  

Minister McConalogue said:

I am delighted to open the new Knowledge Transfer (KT) Programme, another important milestone in the implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

This new Programme will foster knowledge exchange and innovation between advisors, farmers and other stakeholders and will play a crucial role in helping farmers meet current and future challenges.

Minister McConalogue added:

This new Programme will build on what was achieved by its predecessor under the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme. It will also contribute to the wider development of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) by harnessing the knowledge of all those who work in the agri-food chain.

I look forward to advisors and farmers engaging with the new KT Programme – to the benefit of Irish farm businesses – as this is where the programme’s success will be measured.

Minister Heydon, who has special responsibility for Farm Safety stated:

The new KT Programme will provide an important avenue to support farmers to access information across a wide range of topics including environmental sustainability, digital and smart technologies, and succession planning. 

Minister Heydon added:

I am particularly pleased that farm health, safety and wellbeing has been included as a priority topic in the new programme. Peer learning is a powerful driver of behavioural change and has been shown to be an effective method of improving safety on farms. This ensures the programme covers not only economic and environmental sustainability but also social sustainability on farms.

For information, this Knowledge Transfer Programme is separate to a bespoke forestry specific Knowledge Transfer Programme announced by MoS Pippa Hackett on 12 July.

How to apply

This is a two-step process

  • Expressions of Interest to act as a Knowledge Transfer (KT) Facilitator from FAS approved advisors are accepted online via www.agfood.ie by Friday 1 September 2023.
  • If approved, the KT Facilitator will be invited to submit an application for a Knowledge Transfer Group and nominate the Group Participants on the online KT System by 31 October 2023.

Rates of Payment

Participants will receive reimbursement to the amount of €750 per annum where all the requirements of the Programme have been met. 

Facilitators will receive €500 per annum per Participant in their Group(s) where all the requirements of the Programme have been met. 

Each KT Group can have a maximum of 20 participants and each participant must attend 8 group meetings and one-to-one with the KT Facilitator each year of the 3-year Programme. 

Further information

The KT Programme Terms & Conditions are available on the Department’s website at: gov.ie – Knowledge Transfer Programme 2024-2026 (www.gov.ie)