Programme Objectives

To establish baseline data on water quality, water quantity, greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions and soil carbon sequestration across the ACP.
To extend the current baseline monitoring of water quality with multiple contaminants.
To provide a scientific evaluation of existing measures.
To provide all reporting required by the Derogation Decision (EU C (2022) 2596), Specifically:
- To monitor and report on soil solution, surface water and groundwater on selected derogation and non-derogation farms.
- To model N and P loss to water from derogation and non-derogation farms
The programme will also contribute to Article 10(6) of Commission Implementing Decision 2022/696 by contributing data and model-based calculations of the magnitude of nitrate and phosphorus losses. This will be completed in collaboration with a DAFM convened EPA-Teagasc-Uisce Éireann national modelling group.
To model trends and future scenarios for both water quality and gaseous emissions.
To upscale detailed process based understanding from ACP catchments to larger river basins using national data.
To model greenhouse gas and soil carbon sequestration on ACP farms.
To investigate future mitigation strategies at varying Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) within the existing catchments at a localised/ sub catchment scale and report on their efficacy and Policy Readiness Level (PRL) and Social Readiness Level (SRL).
To model the emerging mitigation strategies under changing climate and land diversification scenarios
To conduct a meta analysis on nutrient and sediment mitigation strategies to inform future policy advice.
To engage more closely with policy makers at the research-policy interface
Collect farm level economic and sustainability data from ACP farms.
Investigate farmer’s attitude to changes in the NAP and the financial cost of doing so.
To provide national focal points for technology transfer and education.
To provide the scientific basis for the development of national policies on sustainable production
To collaborate with Knowledge Transfer professionals to disseminate findings from the ACP to influence the uptake of best management practices by farmers.