Kilkenny woman showcases Ireland at World Food Forum

Sustainable farming and food supply chains are an ever-growing topic in the agri world, and a young researcher from Kilkenny is at the forefront of supporting farmers in their endeavours.

Niamh Dunphy (right), from Hugginstown, is a PhD student with UCD and Teagasc, where she is researching how farmers are engaging with climate change.

Earlier this year Niamh was also part of an Irish delegation that took part in a European conference, and showcased the work that is being done in Ireland.

Niamh Dunphy speaking at the World Food Forum in Rome

A proud Kilkenny woman, Niamh represented Ireland at the World Food Forum in Rome – a long way from her days at Newmarket primary school and the Presentation Secondary School in Kilkenny City.

Niamh is now a PhD student on the Agricultural Innovation Support programme in UCD and Teagasc. She is researching the critical role of farmers in addressing climate change – what they are looking into and how often they talk about it.

Specialising in the intersection of agriculture and environmental policy, Niamh focuses on farmer’s engagement in conversations about climate change and their behaviour around implementing climate mitigation strategies on their farms.

Her work seeks to highlight the social, economic, and cultural factors that influence farmers’ decisions to adopt sustainable practices and contribute to broader environmental goals in reducing GHG emissions from food production.

World Food Forum
The World Food Forum was launched by the UN in 2020 and Ireland is one of just six countries that have already set up a national chapter.

In April Niamh attended the National Youth Food Forum, in Dublin, and following that was chosen to attend the World Food Forum as one of four Irish delegates. More than 150 countries took part and were invited to attend an Irish-hosted side event that showcased the National Youth Food Forum. The group also hosted Irish Ambassador to Rome, Patricia O’Brien, who gave a talk to delegates.

Niamh relished the opportunity to meet delegates from around the world and attend talks and events that she described as “eye opening.” Ireland has its own issues, she said, but the forum showed her how lucky we are in this country. For example, she said, there is a focus here on water quality issues, but in Nepal they don’t even have the water supply to have quality issues. If they plant crops and it doesn’t rain, the seeds won’t even germinate.

Another interesting area of the forum was the subject of food waste – each person wastes 110kg of food a year, Niamh learned. There is a disconnect between consumers and the effort required of the earth to grow the food, she said.

The Irish Department of Agriculture gave substantial funding support to the Forum this year, enabling more than 150 delegates to attend from other countries, and that generosity was acknowledged by people who met Niamh and the other members of the Irish delegation.
Niamh said that meeting young people from across the globe, who are all working towards one thing, and seeing the potential they have, together, to save the planet, was refreshing.