Image: © Gabriel Cassan/Stock.adobe.com
It may not be Lisdoonvarna, but AgriFood Connect is hoping to make fruitful matches for Ireland’s farming community.
There’s nothing like a soft-spoken Co Down man to talk to you about matchmaking.
Dr James Tate is a research fellow at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), where he works on the AgriFood Connect project.
Tate did his PhD in QUB’s School of Biological Sciences and was very much into the deep science side of things, focusing on detecting illegal pesticides “using lasers and tinfoil”, he says. While writing up his research, he got the opportunity to work on a short project looking at solutions for waste with industry partners and this practical application of research appealed to him.
“It’s kind of nice to get back and actually speak to people again,” he says of his decision to get involved in the AgriFood Connect project, which is all about getting research and industry to talk to each other.
AgriFood Connect is a cross-border initiative supported by InterTrade Ireland to address challenges in the agriculture and food sectors on the island of Ireland. Led by QUB and Munster Technological University, the aim is to bring together researchers, government agencies, farmers, food manufacturers and SMEs to develop practical, innovative solutions to boost the sector.
A recent AgriFood Connect workshop. Image: AgriFood Connect
Tate says the project team at AgriFood Connect is working to facilitate and build a strong network by hosting in-person workshops and online masterclasses and webinars, where experts teach people about various aspects of getting their idea to market, including the importance of pitching, IP, how to work with data and how to translate novel research into scalable solutions for the industry.
Making matches
The project will soon enter a matchmaking phase, where those involved will get to meet with potential collaborators and investors, so Tate is asking people to sign up on the AgriFood Connect website.
The incentive for small businesses and farmers seems obvious – free training and support and access to new ideas, but what inspires the researchers to get involved? Just like Tate has felt himself, the opportunity to see your ideas put to practical use is a great incentive, he says.
And there are plenty of examples of researchers setting up university spin-out companies to commercialise their research in the agritech sector, which is growing all the time across the island.
It’s very early days in the project but Tate says they’ve seen some data-driven solutions emerging, including using artificial intelligence (AI) to make processes more efficient and improve productivity, though he thinks it would be really interesting to see some new biological innovations to come out of the network too.
Climate and sustainability also offer huge opportunities for the sector, Tate says, and he hopes to see organisations taking advantage of that.
InterTrade Ireland is very open about the types of solutions that might come out of the project though and hopes to make funding available for some of them. “They’re very open with it,” Tate says.
As for Tate’s role, as well as being one of the facilitators, he is hoping to work on some research with the team, looking at the success of the cross-border initiative.
For now, he’s looking forward to the next workshop which is scheduled for June. That’s when, he says, “we’ll actually be trying to establish those networks, establish those connections, actually start discussing tangible projects”. And the more people who get involved, he says, the more chances of successful collaborations coming out of the project.
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