Digital technologies supporting plant health early detection, territory surveillance and phytosanitary measures
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
Pest monitoring is typically performed through costly and time-consuming on-site visits, resulting in certain cases in limited spatial and temporal resolution. Consequently, there is a need for more cost-effective approaches to detect and discriminate infested plants, including trees, at large spatial scales and within reasonable time frames. The advent of new technology in remote sensing, sensor technologies, robotics, remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS), the internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI), opens opportunities for monitoring continuously, more widely, and remotely. These technologies have the potential to guide and help to target on site surveillance and early detection activities and other phytosanitary measures.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals should:
- Develop and test early detection strategies by exploiting digital technologies, e.g., networks of sensors and remote sensing, to improve the surveillance efforts and the delimitation of affected areas by regulated pests allowing a regular and rapid monitoring of large areas that might be difficult to reach;
- Enhance and optimize the use of insect traps in a network setting for an IoT approach;
- Develop user-friendly and accessible tools or methods, including through the use of robotics to monitor a suite of known stress-processes in plants (chlorosis, changes in fluorescence, loss of transportation, etc.) that can be used in plant pest detection and/or to monitor occurrence of pests;
- Contribute to disentangle biotic and abiotic stresses, enabling the early detection of pests, by pushing further the current (and the new generation of satellite missions, e.g., FLEX) capabilities of remote sensing (measurements taken by hand-held, towers, drones, and satellite data), AI, and other digital strategies;
- Collect standardised and comprehensive data (e.g., field observations, laboratory measurements, remotely sensed data, etc.) that contribute to monitor plant health and pests and to develop an early warning surveillance system;
- Assess the cost-benefits of the proposed methods;
- Integrate citizen science as a tool to monitor pests, developing robust methods to use its data for systematic analysis, and increasing public and stakeholder engagement.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
EU contribution per project: €5,00 million
Thematic Categories
- Agriculture - Farming - Forestry
- Environment and Climate Change
- Health
- Industry
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Rural development
Eligibility for Participation
- Farmers Unions
- Farmers, Agriculturalists
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ including a range of actors to ensure that knowledge and needs from various sectors such as research, plant health services, farming/forestry sectors, other relevant authorities, and industry are brought together.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou Street, 1075 Nicosia
T.Th. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
+357 22205000
Email: support@research.org.cy
Contact Persons:
Marcia Trillidou
Scientific Officer A’
Email: trillidou@research.org.cy
Dr. Mary Economou
Scientific Officer
Email: meconomou@research.org.cy
(Publish Date: 16/01/2023-for internal use only)
EU Contact Point
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact