International Agroforestry Conference
Farmer-led Climate Adaptation and Mitigation.
Why and how trees on farms can help!
Thursday 16th + Friday 17th November 2023, Westlodge Hotel, Bantry, Co.Cork
Please Note: This event is now over and no longer available please go to https://www.irishagroforestry.ie/conferenceproceedings to read presentations and view videos.
This conference was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine.
Keynote Speakers
Minister Pippa Hackett
Senator Pippa Hackett is Minister of State for Agriculture with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity. She was appointed to this role in June 2020, only the third senator in the history of the state to be elevated to Cabinet. Senator Hackett was elected to the Agricultural Panel of Seanad Éireann in a by-election on 1 November 2019 and was re-elected in 2020. She is also a former member of Offaly County Council. She holds a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Essex, a postgraduate diploma from University College Dublin, and a PhD from the University of Limerick. Minister Hackett has four children, and along with her husband Mark, she runs a farm (Moat House Farm) near Tullamore in Co Offaly. They produce organic beef and sheep, while they also have some bloodstock and forestry. Moat House Farm is situated on the site of a 12th-century Norman motte and bailey identified on the ordnance survey map as “The Moat of Down”, hence the business name.
Clive Bright
Organic farmer Clive Bright farms 120 acres of changeable, drumlin soil in south Sligo. He has been practicing agroforestry & holistic management in order to best utilise the varied landscape of his farm. Clive will share his experiences with agroforestry and why he believes it is an important and profitable addition to his livestock systems. Read more about Clive here.
Chair
Professor Jim McAdam
Jim is a Director of the Irish Agroforestry Forum. He is an agricultural scientist specialising in agri-environment measures and in the potential for agroforestry systems to deliver a wide range of ecosystem services. He retired from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute in 2018 but remains active in silvopastoral research and in promoting agroforestry systems across the island of Ireland. He has a particular interest in developing climate-resilient farming systems. He is an honorary professor in the School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast and an Associate with Ulster Wildlife.
Preliminary Conference Programme
Speakers include: Professor Jim McAdam (QUB), DAFM Inspector Eugene Curran, Dr Lindsay Whistance (Organic Research Centre UK), Dr Kathy Soder (USDA), Dr Gerry Lawson (EURAF) and lots more.
Bursaries
Please note, at the present moment and time there are no bursaries available to attend this conference 11/09/23
The International Agroforestry Conference 2023 will form an important part of agroforestry education and stakeholder engagement on the island of Ireland.
The conference aims to promote the planting of trees on farms by demonstrating successful agroforestry business models and examples of innovation-driven sustainable farming techniques.
It will bring together a diversity of expert voices, both national and international, to discuss and highlight the multi-faceted benefits that trees can bring to farms and the wider environment.
The conference will engage directly with farmers and provide them with the knowledge they need to farm sustainably and with profit whilst carrying out climate change adaptation and mitigation and helping meet Ireland’s emissions reduction targets.
Goals of the conference
● To promote the potential for and benefits of agroforestry as a multifunctional land use option that integrates trees into agricultural and horticultural businesses at a range of levels and spatial orientations, to sustainably produce nutritious, wholesome food and quality timber while delivering a wide range of ecosystem services.
● To engage directly with farmers and provide them with the knowledge they need to help farm sustainably and with profit whilst carrying out climate change mitigation.
● To demonstrate successful agroforestry business models from Ireland, Europe and internationally; how innovation-driven sustainable farming methods including agroforestry can lead to sustained profits, and how ecosystem services certification could help improve financial outcomes for farms.
● To demonstrate how trees can reconnect farmers and consumers, how they can improve the image and understanding of the connection between farmer, water, land and air quality, and how agroforestry can help nature restoration, allow rural communities to thrive and improve the quality of life for farmers and the wider community.
Why visit Cork? Watch below and click here.
