Ó An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara
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Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State for Biodiversity and Land Use, today announced the opening of the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Group (KTG) Scheme for 2022. The aim of the scheme is to increase the level of forest management activity among forest owners.
Minister Hackett said,
“I am delighted to re-open the Forestry KTG Scheme for a fourth year. The Scheme provides a very useful opportunity for forest owners to gain additional knowledge to help them manage their forests in a sustainable way over their lifetime. As Minister for Forestry I have very ambitious plans for the sector, and we are currently developing a new Forestry Strategy and Forestry Programme. Key to implementing the Forestry Strategy and the Forestry Programme will be improving the forestry management knowledge of farmers and landowners, and the KTG Scheme will help to drive this”.
Since the inception of the Scheme four years ago, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has invested in excess of €1.3 million in knowledge transfer for Irish forest owners, funding over 1500 participants.
The Minister added,
“The State has invested over €3 billion since 1990 in creating new forests. It is vital that this investment is realised through sustainable forest management. The mobilisation of this timber will create economic activity along the supply chain through activities such as harvesting, transportation, replanting and processing. My hope is that the Forestry Knowledge Transfer Groups will address many of the knowledge gaps among farmers and landowners that act as barriers to the mobilisation of private timber,”
The KTGs are led by a professional forester and encourage participants to engage with forestry groups and professionals. They operate with a bottom-up approach, with the members themselves deciding on what it is they wish to learn. Participants have the opportunity to learn from the experts and from each others’ experiences within a discussion group setting. In addition, KTGs can be used as a vehicle to bring forest owners in contact with professional foresters.
Editor Notes
KTG participation
Each KTG can have a maximum of 20 participants and each participant will need to attend 7 meetings or outdoor events in order to complete the programme. Participants in the 2018, 2019, 2020/2021 Schemes will not be permitted to join a KTG in 2022.
KTG payments
KTG payments are broken down as follows;
| Payee | Reimbursement/grant payment per | € |
| KTG Participant | Meeting attended | €70 per meeting |
| KTG Organiser | Per KTG organised | €6,500 per KTG |
A total of 7 meetings and events will be organised per KTG – the maximum payment to each participant is €490.
KTG evaluation
An evaluation process will apply to ensure that only applications to organise a KTG that reach a minimum standard are considered. Applications will also be ranked in the event that the scheme is over subscribed.
Each KTG application received will be rated according to the following criteria;
• How client base/membership/future participants would benefit from membership of your KTG(s);
• Capacity/experience of each KTG organiser to run the KTG programme;
• Extent of previous knowledge transfer activities (list field trips, seminars, publications etc.).
• Promotion strategy to attract inactive forest owners to the KTG.
All applicants will be ranked according to the marks awarded. Available KTGs will be distributed 50:50 between forestry producer groups and forestry companies/forestry consultants.
Further details a copy of the Scheme Terms & Conditions and the Form A application can be downloaded from the Department’s website at: www.gov.ie/en/collection/c04fb-forestry-grants-and-premium-schemes-2014-2020-circulars/
Completed applications must be emailed to: forestryktg@agriculture.gov.ie by 4 p.m. on the 25th, April 2022.
According to COFORD's All Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 2016 – 2035, wood production is set to double from 4 million cubic metres to 8 million cubic metres by 2035, mostly from privately owned forests.
ENDS