Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

New Zealand and Ireland have agreed to strengthen their partnership in agricultural climate research, signing a joint ministerial statement in Wellington on Tuesday, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media.

According to Todd McClay, the two countries will continue advancing research aimed at giving farmers practical tools to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions without cutting production.

McClay noted that the partnership builds on the 2022 Joint Research Initiative (JRI), which invested 34.5 million New Zealand dollars (about 20.2 million U.S. dollars) to expand climate research and scientific capabilities in the agricultural sector.

During his visit, Noel Grealish toured several of the 11 ongoing projects and said they have already helped accelerate understanding of emissions from farming. He emphasized that agriculture plays a central role in both the Ireland and New Zealand economies, and that both nations share the goal of reducing emissions in pasture-based farming while maintaining productivity.

The two governments plan to identify new projects under the second phase of the JRI, focusing on practical solutions that can deliver meaningful emission reductions. They also jointly launched the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan for the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, which aims to expand research across key areas such as livestock, crop production, and paddy rice systems.

Interestingly, both countries are global leaders in pasture-based farming, making them ideal testing grounds for climate-friendly agricultural innovations. Some of the research already underway includes developing low-emission animal feeds and breeding livestock that naturally produce less methane—solutions that could eventually be adopted by farmers worldwide.