Cavan County Council is currently inviting tenders for the creation of a cross border network aiming to address some of the main issues facing farming communities.

The project is being delivered under the PEACEPLUS programme which is co-funded by the European Union, the Irish and UK governments and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The €1.14 billion programme is designed to support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.

Cavan County Council is inviting suitably qualified individuals or organisations to submit tenders for a 14-month contract for the farming network project which has a budget of over €55,000.

The farm network will work together to address issues such as decarbonisation and energy; shortages in labour and skills; succession and Brexit.

It will also examine opportunities in the areas of farm data and management, farming research and development, along with innovation and technology

The successful tenderer will create a network of around 20 farming families would participate in the project; 10 in Northern Ireland and 10 in the Republic of Ireland.

However, Cavan County Council noted that the initiative would have "a significantly wider reach" outside of the main participants as the findings and knowledge sharing would have the potential to reach the much broader farming community north and south.

"Part of the project would include strong elements of promotion and dissemination of the learnings from the project," according to the tender documents.

The project would include a series of six half-day events, including farm walks, lectures, networking and collaboration, along with two research projects involving 35 participants.

Cavan County Council said that the closing date for the receipt of tenders is Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

This is one of a number of co-designed local action plans being delivered by the local authority under the PEACEPLUS programme.