Ireland, the Devenish Lands at Dowth
Description
The Irish Living Lab is a physical hub at the Devenish Lands at Dowth for short food supply chains. It started with a group of producers, the Boyne Valley Group, realizing that they could be more productive and efficient by collaborating instead of working individually.
The Devenish Lands at Dowth is an internationally-recognised research farm dedicated to developing sustainable agriculture solutions and promoting human health through nutrition. It has been designated as an International Lighthouse Farm, i.e. a farm that is leading the way to sustainable food production, by Wageningen University in the Netherlands, the top university for studying agriculture in Europe. The Devenish Lands at Dowth is a 30 minute drive from Dublin airport. It lies within the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site in County Meath. The Neolithic monuments of this area were built 5,500 years ago by some of Ireland’s first farming communities – our first colleagues in farming, food and health innovation. The Devenish Lands of Dowth is an inspirational landscape to showcase our ambitious strategy “One Health from Soil to Society” to deliver nutritious and sustainably produced food.
Living Lab Manager
Jean Kennedy, Devenish Nutrition
Supporting Partners
Specific Challenges
- Current food supply chain is dominated by large export focused industrialized parties
- Lack of people with necessary skills & competencies in SFSC advisory services
- No adequate support for SFSC acors
- AKIS and advisory networks are disconnected
Vision
Establishing a scalable case study in the region of Dowth, focusing on and prioritizing the needs of stakeholders and creating links to national authorities and institutions providing support in topics like food safety and legal requirements to support SFSC actors. Create a more transparent AKIS network in Ireland and use data and evidence to show the value of sustainable farming.