With the 2024 Ploughing Championships kicking off, we take a closer look at Ireland’s agritech scene and some of its best success stories.
Agriculture is unsurprisingly one of the Ireland’s key sectors, with Irish agrifood exports worth €19bn in 2022. This strong agricultural base provides an ideal market for the agritech industry, with a whole host of start-ups, research and innovations based around the agriculture space.
In fact, as Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships returns to Co Laois for its 92nd year, it’s important to take stock of the country’s incredible innovations.
Farm-focused start-ups
Successful start-ups include Kildare-based Dairy Robotics, University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out ProvEye and Limerick’s Cotter Agritech, many of which have continued to grow since they first stepped onto the scene.
For example, ProvEye, which develops image-based analytics technology for agriculture and the environment, was recently selected as one of 15 global companies to take part in an Amazon Web Services (AWS) clean energy accelerator programme.
Tipperary-based Herdwatch, which aims to digitise and streamline livestock farming, secured a multimillion-euro investment at the end of 2022 and has since snapped up Dublin-based farm software provider Kingswood Computing as well as ComTag and UK-based Lilac Technology.
Meanwhile, Roscommon-based agritech start-up Farmeye – which has recently rebranded as Senus – has gained funding support from the European Space Agency for its hedgerow conservation and management project.
Research and innovation
It’s not just the start-up scene that’s showing off Ireland’s agritech chops. Last year, UCD opened a new agritech facility to boost education, entrepreneurship and innovation in the sector. The €4.8m facility is based at UCD Lyons Farm in Kildare, which contains 250 hectares of farmland that is used for research and teaching purposes, as well as labs, meeting rooms, offices and space for exhibitions and seminars.
Additionally, a Sustainable Food Systems and AgTech programme was one of four programmes announced earlier this year to receive €7m in funding, as agritech was named a key sector along with medtech, cybersecurity and digital health.
Meanwhile, VistaMilk, the research centre focused on agriculture, has been nurturing research in the agritech field since it launched in 2018.
Some of its projects in recent years include developing a way to help farmers breed cattle based on their “carbon hoofprint”, creating sensor technology to measure the levels of nitrates in soils more accurately, using ‘dairy drones’ and AI to help farmers decide where their cows should graze and developing a device that can remotely monitor cow health.
We’ve also spoken to researchers and workers within the field – pun intended – to ensure that animal healthcare is a key factor. For example, molecular biologist Jennifer Drohan is focusing on ‘programming’ E coli bacteria to receive and send information from inside the body of an animal.
“The work we’re doing will provide farmers with a non-invasive, greener solution to monitoring cattle health, which in turn will improve the efficiency and environmental sustainability of the Irish national herd,” she told SiliconRepublic.com.
Meanwhile, Catherine Heffernan from MSD’s Animal Health Intelligence division works with a range of cutting-edge technologies, including a monitoring technology for cows called Sensehub, which monitors animals’ reproduction and health status.
“This technology allows farmers and vets to make proactive and informed decisions to improve animal health, welfare and performance every day, leveraging real-time data to achieve the best results.”
Staying ahead of challenges
Speaking to SiliconRepublic.com, Padraig Hennessy, chair of Agtech Ireland – which represents organisations within the sector – said Ireland’s strong tech presence along with its agricultural roots are what make the sector so vibrant.
“Many Irish people are just one or two generations removed from farming, giving them a deep understanding of agricultural challenges,” he said. “This connection, alongside Ireland’s thriving tech industry, allows for a natural synergy where technological innovation is applied to farming practices.”
However, the industry is not without its challenges. While many of the impressive innovations coming out of the agritech sector focus on improving sustainable practices within the farming industry, there can be a reluctance to adopt these new technologies.
“Farmers, often operating on tight margins, are hesitant to invest in technologies, even if they can improve efficiency in the long run,” said Hennessy. “Also, technologies can seem complex if farmers are not familiar with technology in general.”
He added that in order to improve tech adoption on farms, the Government need to continue utilising mechanisms such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), which offers grant aid for certain on-farm capital investments.
“Additionally, I believe farmers need to be educated on how agritech can improve profitability and sustainability, while offering hands-on training for easier implementation.”
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