Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, is the national body providing integrated research, advisory and education services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. Its mission is to support science-based innovation in the agri-food sector and the broader bioeconomy that will underpin profitability, competitiveness and sustainability.

It was established in September 1988 under the Agriculture (Research, Training and Advice) Act, 1988. The 11 member Board of Teagasc is appointed by the Minister for Agriculture and food and has representatives from the farming organisations, the food industry, the Universities, the Department of Agriculture and Food and Teagasc staff.

The organisation is funded by State Grant-in-Aid; the National Development Plan 2007 to 2013; including fees for research, advisory and education services; income from national and EU competitive research programmes; and revenue from farming activities and commodity levies.

Teagasc employs over 1300 staff in 70 locations throughout Ireland. It has annual operating budget in excess of €170 million.

Teagasc operates in partnership with all sectors of the agriculture and food industry and with rural development agencies.

View Annual Report 2010 [Pdf file - 6Mb]

View Food Harvest Report 2020

Advisory Services

Teagasc is a unique organisation incorporating research, knowledge transfer and education in a single organisation. Knowledge transfer supports innovation by farmers on how they manage their businesses and provides access to the technologies they can apply to improve their competitiveness.

The Teagasc 2030 foresight report identified a significant need to enhance the transfer of research knowledge to farmers to assist them to innovate and develop sustainable rural businesses.

The knowledge transfer advisory programme is delivered by advisers in the Teagasc Advisory Area Units. These advisers are in contact with some 80,000 farmers and rural dwellers each year, of which approximately 45,000 avail of our intensive farm consultancy service. The advisory service is supported by specialist enterprise advisers based in the Teagasc development centres.

The best technologies and the latest research available is transferred to farmers using a variety of methods, including, discussion groups, individual consultations, Farm Management Newsletters and the Teagasc BETTER Farm programme and through the education and training programme

Teagasc is the main provider of further education in agriculture, food, horticulture, forestry and equine studies. Many of our courses incorporate management practices and technologies on the home farm, supervised project work and discussion groups.

In collaboration with Institutes of Technology we are providing an opportunity for students to advance from certificate level courses to honours degree level and beyond. Our further education courses are accredited by FETAC while our higher level courses are accredited by HETAC which means that our graduates have a qualification which is recognised at home and abroad.

Over the years Teagasc has developed and delivered training programmes, workshops and seminars for the food & related sectors. These programmes are in the areas of innovation, food safety, quality and legislation

Research

Teagasc is the leading organisation in the fields of agriculture and food research in Ireland, undertaking innovative research in:

• Food
• Animal Production and Grassland
• Crops, Environment and Land Use
• Rural Economy and Innovation

Our annual research portfolio comprises some 300 research projects, carried out by 500 scientific and technical staff in our research centres throughout Ireland.

We collaborate extensively with our colleagues in Irish universities. Our post-graduate fellowship programme, which supports more than 100 MSc and PhD students annually in our research centres, enhances this collaboration.

We participate extensively in EU Framework Programmes and we have developed bilateral agreements with research organisations in Europe, the USA and New Zealand.

The Irish economy in general, agricultural producers and consumers specifically, have benefited substantially from the technological development and new information emanating from research undertaken by Irish scientists.