Northern Ireland-based property management company, BH Estates, has been awarded £4m over three years to assist the country's agriculture sector in reducing excess phosphorus from livestock slurry.

This forms part of the Lough Neagh Action Plan and is a 'significant milestone which delivers on a key action point' in the report that was published in July, according to Minister Andrew Muir.

The award has been made as part of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs' (DAERA) Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Phase 2 project under the Sustainable Utilisation of Livestock Slurry (SULS) programme.

"It also has the potential to radically change the way nutrients are managed by the farming community and provide a sustainable future for our agri-food sector and be an excellent example of Green Growth in action, contributing to emissions reductions, environmental improvements and green job opportunities," said Minister Muir, while visiting the BH Estates site near Dundonald.

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"The SULS programme will advance and develop demonstrator sites to process livestock manure/slurry to remove excess phosphorus from the environment.

"I am delighted to see the first contract awarded to BH Estates for their Farm2Export project. BH Estates can now scale up their solution for managing excess phosphorus from livestock slurry and anaerobic digestate.

"Their consortium has just taken receipt of multiple self-funded large mobile slurry separators which they will put to work on farms and AD plants to produce feedstock for renewable energy and Organo-mineral fertiliser. Coupled with additional nutrient separation equipment supported by DAERA, this will support reductions in our reliance on fossil fuels, reduce reliance on imported fertilisers and demonstrate the potential to improve water quality if rolled out on a much larger scale."

SBRI provides the public sector with innovative solutions to problems that will drive improvement and allows suppliers to develop products and services working collaboratively with the public sector, enabling them to develop new skills, expertise and markets.

Jack Blakiston-Houston, Managing Director at BH Estates, added: "We are excited to begin our Farm2Export project, under the umbrella of the SULS programme. We look forward to working with DAERA and our consortium partners, and farmers across Northern Ireland and further enable the economically viable movement of agri-nutrients.

"The system we hope to deliver will see a win-win for farming, food processors and the public with regards to nutrient management in both the agri-food and energy sectors in Northern Ireland."