New Agriculture and Food Start-Ups Training Programme to Receive €7 Million Funding

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, has announced a significant investment of €7 million over six years to University College Dublin (UCD) for the launch of a new food and agriculture innovation and entrepreneurship training programme, in collaboration with Teagasc.

The funding is part of the Innovators’ Initiative by Enterprise Ireland, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Coveney emphasized the importance of Ireland’s Sustainable Food and AgTech industry, which currently contributes an estimated €8 billion to the economy and employs over 160,000 people. He expressed that the new programme aims to further bolster innovation in the sector by equipping participants with the essential skills to evaluate, select, and validate ideas for new products and services. The minister also stated that the programme, titled FAST-IP, is expected to lead to the establishment of new Sustainable Food and AgTech SMEs and High Potential Start-Ups, with the potential to create hundreds of new jobs.

The programme will be conducted by the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, in partnership with Teagasc, at the recently inaugurated AgTechUCD Innovation Centre at UCD Lyons Farm in Co. Kildare. Scheduled to have five intakes of 15 participants each, the programme will commence in September 2024 and run until the end of 2029.

FAST-IP, aimed at mid-career professionals, is a 12-month, in-person programme accredited by UCD at Level 9 on the National Qualifications Framework. Successful participants will be awarded a Graduate Diploma in Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship upon completion.

Gary Ryan, director at AgTechUCD Innovation Centre, stressed the significance of placing highly skilled professionals in immersive agricultural environments, enhancing their capacities to develop business ideas with strong commercial potential, leading to a more sustainable and profitable industry. The programme focuses on encouraging participants to innovate and address challenges in climate change and environmental impact.

The programme will provide participants with a tax-free stipend of €38,000 over the course of 12 months. Through FAST-IP, participants will gain insights into conducting needs-led innovation to develop market-validated solutions in the areas of agricultural technology and food sustainability. Emphasising an immersive experience, participants will spend 8-10 weeks in agricultural environments, including farms and food processing companies.

With its goal to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture sector, the FAST-IP programme is poised to become a key contributor to sustaining and growing Ireland’s agri-food innovation ecosystem.