“This international partnership offers exciting opportunities to take on issues that must be addressed if we are to meet food security and safety challenges both now and in the future,” said USDA Deputy Under Secretary Dr Ann Bartuska, who led a contingent of US government officials to Dublin to formalise the partnership.

“Collaboration among the United States, Ireland, and Northern Ireland spans many decades, and we enthusiastically welcome this new endeavour.”

Four 2016 priority areas have been identified by the partnership, including understanding plant associated microorganisms and plant-microbe interactions; plant-associated insects and nematodes; animal health and disease; and animal nutrition, growth, and lactation.

US funding will be provided through USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), with additional funding from the Republic of Ireland Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) and the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD).

Scientists from the US, Ireland, and Northern Ireland may develop collaborative applications and submit those, via a US scientist, through an existing NIFA Request for Applications that addresses the pilot research priorities.

In addition to the NIFA partnership, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are engaged in additional informal collaborative research endeavours with colleagues and institutions in Ireland in areas such crop and animal production, food safety, and natural resource management.