Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Land based agricultural production is the source of approximately 95% of human food nutrients (UN FAO).
Intensive and often inappropriate practices in agriculture have however resulted in severe soil degradation, thereby reducing the capacity of soils to support food production and other important ecosystem services such as the regulation of water, nutrients, and carbon cycles.
Soil degradation is further accelerated by the effects of climate change, with abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity, and waterlogging, often in combination, having negative effects on the world’s crop production.
The direct impact of a changed climate is also frequently accompanied by indirect impacts due to alterations in the composition and behaviour of weeds, insects, pathogens, and soil microbiome, alongside the impacts of increased amounts of human-generated pollutants.
Detailed Call Description
Innovative ideas put forward under this Challenge must go beyond incremental changes to the state-of-the-art and result in novel production processes that must deliver energy- and resource-efficient, low emission foods that maintain or increase biodiversity and are integral to a healthy diet.
Funded projects are expected to develop breakthrough technologies that reach TRL4 (validation in laboratory environment) with viable plants at the end of the projects. The proposals should work on both the following objectives:
• Increasing plant growth, yields and resistance to stress through:
o Enhancing tolerance to stress combinations occurring due to different climate scenarios that include the simultaneous exposure of crops to different stresses e.g. heat combined with drought, salinity, flooding, high CO2 levels, as well as indirect effect of climate change via altered composition and behaviour of weeds, insects, pathogens and soil microbiome and possible impact of human-generated pollutants.
o Increasing water use efficiency and nutrient use efficiency compared to current crops in commercial use.
o Improving plant reproduction and seed filling processes under unfavourable conditions caused by combination of at least two stress factors.
o Investigating and enhancing plant and soil microbiome interactions.
• Substantially increasing the nutritional value (e.g. proteins, vitamins) in crops through plant native and non-native ingredients in crops.
Projects must also develop a complete methodology for assessing the increase of plant growth, yields, and climate resilience to single and multiple stresses, and/or assess changes to the nutritional value of crops, as appropriate. Proposals should include multi-omics approaches including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics. These approaches can be further underpinned by leveraging technologies such as, but not limited to nanoparticle technology, chemistry, and advanced artificial intelligence to develop and introduce novel defence and acclimation strategies, currently not present in crops to achieve greater tolerance to harsh environmental conditions and/or biomanufacturing of non-native ingredients, to enable the time required for that development to be significantly shortened. Proposals should also look to address the narrow genetic diversity of novel crops and are also expected to consider regulatory aspects and to build on the work carried out so far by the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA), where appropriate.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Considers proposals with an EU contribution of up to €4.000.000, as appropriate.
Thematic Categories
- Agriculture - Food
- Environment and Climate Change
- Industry
- Information Technology
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Educational Institutions
- Farmers, Agriculturalists
- Other Beneficiaries
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to apply, your proposal must meet the general eligibility requirements (see Annex 2) as well as specific eligibility requirements for the Challenge (if applicable). Please check for particular elements (e.g., specific application focus or technology) in the respective Challenge chapter below.
The EIC Pathfinder Challenges support collaborative or individual research and innovation from consortia or from single legal entities established in a Member State or an Associated Country (unless stated otherwise in the specific Challenge chapter). In case of a consortium your proposal must be submitted by the coordinator on behalf of the consortium.
Consortia of two entities must be comprised of independent legal entities from two different Member States or Associated Countries. Consortia of three or more entities must include as beneficiaries at least three legal entities, independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:
- at least one legal entity established in a Member State; and
- at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.
The legal entities may for example be universities, research organisations, SMEs, startups, natural persons. In the case of single beneficiary projects, mid-caps and larger companies will not be permitted.
The standard admissibility and eligibility conditions and the eligibility of applicants from third countries are detailed in Annex 2.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
Address: 29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia, P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Person:
Dr. Leda Skoufari – Themistou
Senior Scientific Officer
Email: leda@research.org.cy