increase font size
Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor and his Irish counterpart Charlie McConalogue after signing an agreement on greater co-operation in agricultural research between NZ and Ireland last month.
Greater cooperation on agricultural research between NZ and Ireland is on the cards.
This follows the signing of an agreement between the two countries in Dublin last month. It came as the result of a meeting between Agricultural and Trade and Export Minister Damien O'Connor and his Irish counterpart, Charlie McConalogue. The pair met last month to discuss options for greater cooperation and later O'Connor visited the Ashdown Food Research Centre in Dublin.
O'Connor says the aim of the deal is to build on the research partnerships that already exist between the two countries. Massey University and DairyNZ are two organisations which have worked with the Irish research entity Teagasc for many years. He says NZ works closely with Ireland in the Global Research Alliance.
"The agreement will have a particular focus on pasture based farming systems. We both have the same challenges around environmental impacts and obligations to greenhouse gas reduction as they do and our farming systems are vey similar," O'Connor told Rural News.
"Irish farmers face similar challenges to ours. The day I was in Dublin, there were farmers in other parts of Ireland protesting about similar issue that have been raised in NZ."
O'Connor says both sides can learn from each other and he's keen to see more scholarships provided to encourage more young people to travel to see what is happening in terms of research in both countries.
"In some respects, it's giving greater political support to what is happening already and developing this further," he adds.
"In other words, creating a more formal partnership which builds on the close historical ties between out two nations."
The Irish Minister of State for Rural Communities says his country and New Zealand face very similar challenges on a range of issues related to agriculture, including climate change, biodiversity and rural depopulation.
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
As the coalition Government mulls new regulations to reinstate the export of live animals, debate is heating up between supporters and opponents.
In the rural landscapes of New Zealand and Ireland, a shared agricultural heritage thrives, built on a strong mixture of tradition and innovation, with mirror image climates earning both countries global acclaim for their food quality and sustainable agriculture.
OPINION: Your canine crusader was truly impressed by the almost unanimous support given by politicians of all stripes in Parliament to the recent passing of legislation for the NZ/EU free trade deal.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.
Co-existence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM plants in New Zealand industries will be challenging, but is achievable, a review has found.
Three farmers making contributions to the wider dairy sector have been chosen as this year’s finalists for the prestigious Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year title.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) awards.
Fonterra says it takes the ongoing threat of 'adverse cyber action' extremely seriously.
After 20 years of milking cows, Northland farmer Greg Collins is ready to step into the governance side of dairy.
OPINION: In the same way that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, economists sometimes get it right.
OPINION: The proposed RMA reforms took a while to drop but were well signaled after the election.
