The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is to provide €1.5 million to support Irish involvement in a new European agricultural biodiversity research network.

The research aims to investigate approaches to improving biodiversity at a landscape level. It will also identify opportunities and obstacles to diversification that can help reinvigorate farming practices.

Teagasc will provide €288,000 in support, in the form of three Walsh Scholarships, for the European Research Area Network (ERA-NET) funding initiative.

Commenting on the announcement, Minister of State at the department of agriculture with responsibility for research and innovation, Martin Heydon explained that the joint research call will bring Irish and international researchers together.

Minister of State with responsibility for biodiversity and land use, Senator Pippa Hackett welcomed the Irish involvement in the network.

"I have regularly highlighted the essential role that farmers play in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis," she said.

"Along with my colleague Minister Heydon, I strongly encourage Irish researchers to apply to this important call, which will protect and enhance our biological diversity but also lead to the development and implementation of sustainable and diverse agricultural production practices," Hackett concluded.