Twenty six farmers, advisors and researchers from six NEFERTITI partner countries visited Ireland recently as Teagasc hosts a cross visit for the NEFERTITI project.
The main purpose of the visit was to attend a Teagasc Signpost Farm Walk on the farm of Jack, Larry and Annette Kearney in Rathcormac, County Cork. The farm walk focussed on improving farm sustainability, and featured presentations on water quality, biodiversity, EBI, herd health, GHG emissions and carbon footprint.
Cross visits are a method used in the NEFERTITI project to stimulate exchange between project partners, all of whom are engaged in either farming or advisory activities.
NEFERTITI Network 10 leader, Tom O’Dwyer, who welcomed the group to Ireland on behalf of Teagasc, stated, “we are delighted to host the latest NEFERTITI cross visit, and see it as an opportunity to both showcase our activities, while also receiving feedback and insights from our colleagues on those same activities.”
NEFERTITI project advisor, John Moriarty, said, “this is a great opportunity for our NEFERTITI colleagues to experience an on-farm demonstration where researchers, the host farmers, advisors and industry personnel are collaborating and engaging with the farmer audience.”
Sam Bennett, a UK Demonstration farmer, noted that, “it’s good to see Irish farmers being engaged and open to implementing practices to improve both productivity and environmental factors on their farms.”
Viktória Vona, a Hungarian farm advisor, said that, “it was great to see that research and advisory strategies are driven by farmer needs, and that once the strategy is identified, clear messages are agreed, with practical solutions shared with farmers at farm walks and other events.”
The itinerary also included a visit to a new entrant dairy farm in County Laois and a visit to the Teagasc Animal & Grassland, Research and Innovation Centre at Moorepark, Fermoy, County Cork.
NEFERTITI “Networking European Farms to Enhance Cross Fertilisation and Innovation Uptake Through demonstration” (NEFERTITI) is a unique Network (selected under Programme Horizon 2020) comprising 32 partners and coordinated by ACTA, the head of Network of the French Agricultural Technical Institutes.
The project duration is four years and it will finish on 31st December 2021. The overall objective of NEFERTITI is to establish a highly connected network of well-specified demonstration and pilot farms designed to enhance knowledge exchanges, cross fertilisation among actors and efficient innovation uptake in the farming sector through peer-to-peer demonstration of techniques.
Ten interactive thematic networks were created, bringing together 45 regional clusters (hubs) of demo-farmers and actors involved (advisors, NGOs, industry, education, researchers and policy makers) in 17 countries. Additional information could be found on the project website: www.nefertiti-h2020.eu.
Source: Teagasc
