Cooperation around peatlands and collaboration on research are among the agricultural items that have been agreed upon as part of a plan between Ireland and Germany.

Minister of State with special responsibility for research and innovation Martin Heydon announced an agreement for strengthened co-operation in agriculture between Ireland and Germany as part of his St Patrick’s Day visit to the country.

The third iteration of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) between Ireland and Germany across several areas of Government is expected to be finalised later this year, with the agricultural portion now agreed upon.

This comes following a meeting between Minister Heydon and parliamentary state secretary in the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Dr Ophelia Nick, on Friday in Berlin.

Areas of co-operation

The next update of the plan will see co-operation between Ireland and Germany in relation to peatlands, as well as plant health and forest health.

Research, which has been a prominent feature in the first two iterations of the plan, will be built upon.

There will be joint research projects on improved animal welfare for dairy cows and a strengthening of collaborative research in Europe between German and Irish institutions.

The countries will also explore the potential for co-operation in developing horticulture, bioenergy and organic farming.

Following the meeting in Berlin, Minister Heydon said the relationship between Ireland and Germany is strong.

Largest trading partner

“As Germany is Ireland’s largest trading partner in the European Union (EU), it is a very important one.

“This is particularly true in the case of agri-food trade, where Irish exports to Germany almost doubled in value between the years 2012 and 2022, from €571m in 2012 to approximately €1.1bn in 2022.

“Given the many areas of similar interests, I am pleased to see the increased ambition in cooperation between Germany and Ireland in this agreement.

“From six agricultural projects in the second iteration of the plan, to 11 projects in the third iteration, cooperation between our two countries is going from strength to strength,” he said.