Organic farming thematic networks to compile and share knowledge ready for practice

Closed

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

Horizon Europe (2021-2027)

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.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

HORIZON-CL6-2024-GOVERNANCE-01-10

Call

Organic farming thematic networks to compile and share knowledge ready for practice

Summary

Successful proposals will support the objectives of the European Green Deal, including on climate change, of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and of the farm to fork strategy, notably its target to reach at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. This topic addresses the necessity of organic farming producers for impartial and tailored knowledge on the management choices related to the needs, challenges or opportunities they experience. Successful proposals will speed up innovation and the uptake of results, and will contribute to effective Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS).

This topic aims at supporting the achievement of the farm to fork strategy target of at least 25% of the EU’s agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, for which knowledge and best practice exchange among farmers and across the EU and Associated Countries are fundamental, as it is recognised in the action plan for the development of organic production[4]. In this respect, it also aims to support climate change mitigation and adaptation, including carbon farming uptake.

Detailed Call Description

Proposals should focus on knowledge sharing that addresses the most urgent needs of organic farmers, involved in plant production and/or animal husbandry, for impartial and tailored knowledge on the management choices related to the needs, challenges or opportunities they experience in their specific contexts. The specific subthemes of the network should be chosen in a ‘bottom-up’ way. Proposals should focus on the cost/benefit aspects of the practices identified. End-user material for farmers should include conversion and business plans. The differences between countries/regions/territories should be duly taken into consideration.

In this context, proposals should:

  • Describe comprehensively the state of available knowledge of organic farming practices on the chosen theme and justify the added-value and the relevance of the theme, and explaining how duplication with ongoing or completed projects and networks is avoided.
  • Summarise, share and present – in a language that is easy to understand and is targeted to farmers – the existing best practices and research findings that are ready to be put into practice.
  • Deliver an extensive range of useful, applicable and appealing material for organic farmers. This material should be easy to access and understand, making use of audio-visual material wherever possible, including also materials serving education and training. The material should feed into existing dissemination channels most consulted by farmers in the different countries.
  • Provide “practice abstracts” in the common EIP-AGRI format, as well as other type of materials, to the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-AGRI) ‘Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability’, as well as to national/regional/local AKIS channels and to the EU-wide interactive knowledge reservoir (HORIZON-CL6-2021-GOVERNANCE-01-24).
  • In addition to giving the details on the EIP Operational Groups which are strongly recommended to be involved, wherever possible and relevant to organic farming, provide also details on how further synergies will be built with future EIP Operational Groups and interactive innovation groups operating in the context of the EIP-AGRI.
  • Ensure the long-term – beyond the project period – availability of the practical knowledge collected.

Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’, with a consortium based on a balanced mix of actors with complementary knowledge clearly building on organic farmers, farmers’ groups and advisors, and should run for a minimum of 3 years. Proposals may organise ‘cross-fertilisation’ through sub-networks covering, for example, a region, a language or a production system, in order to better reach and capture knowledge from the targeted farmers and to address context-specific challenges. Outcomes should be widely spread beyond the organic farming community and reach also farmers involved in carbon farming, low-input farming, circular agriculture or agroecology.

Call Total Budget

€4.00 million

Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan

100%

EU Contribution per project: €4.00 million

Thematic Categories

  • Agriculture - Farming - Forestry
  • Environment and Climate Change
  • Research, Technological Development and Innovation
  • Rural development

Eligibility for Participation

  • Farmers Unions
  • Farmers, Agriculturalists
  • NGOs
  • Non Profit Organisations
  • Other Beneficiaries
  • Private Bodies
  • Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

The following additional eligibility criteria apply: The proposals must use the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this Work Programme part.

Call Opening Date

17/10/2023

Call Closing Date

28/02/2024

National Contact Point(s)

Research and Innovation Foundation

29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Emailsupport@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/

Contact Persons:
Marcia Trillidou
Scientific Officer A’
Email: trillidou@research.org.cy

Dr. Mary Economou
Scientific Officer
Emailmeconomou@research.org.cy

EU Contact Point

European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact