PRIMA – Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area is the most ambitious joint programme to be undertaken in the frame of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

The overall objective of the PRIMA programme is to build research and innovation capacities and to develop knowledge and common innovative solutions for agro-food systems, to make them sustainable, and for integrated water provision and management in the Mediterranean area, to make those systems and that provision and management more climate resilient, efficient, cost-effective and environmentally and socially sustainable, and to contribute to solving water scarcity, food security, nutrition, health, well-being and migration problems upstream.

The topics that have opened under the present call are the following:

• Thematic Area 1-Water management: Topic 2.1.1-2023 (RIA) New governance models to define best practices for sustainable water management and conflict mitigation. 
• Thematic Area 2-Farming systems: Topic 2.2.1 (RIA) A step toward carbon-neutral farms: coupling renewable energy sources with circular farming systems. 
• Thematic Area 3-Food value chain: Topic 2.3.1 (RIA) – Assessing novel antimicrobial food packaging and coating materials to reduce food waste to improve safety in the Mediterranean food supply chain. 

The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the transnational project centrally to PRIMA and all the partners must submit the first stage pre-proposal to their National Funding Agency.

The deadline for the submission of stage 1 pre-proposals to PRIMA is 29 March 2023, 17h00 (Brussels time). The deadline for the submission of stage 2 full proposals to PRIMA is 13 September 2023, 17h00 (Brussels time).

The deadline for the submission of stage 1 pre-proposals to RIF is 05 April 2023, 13h00 (Cyprus time). The deadline for the submission of stage 2 full proposals to RIF is 20 September 2023, 13h00 (Cyprus time).

PRIMA considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of € 1,500,000 would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately.

• Agriculture - Farming - Forestry
• Agriculture - Food
• Environment and Climate Change
• Land Development
• Rural development
• Water - Management of Water Resources

• Farmers Unions
• Farmers, Agriculturalists
• International Organisations
• Large Enterprises
• NGOs
• Non Profit Organisations
• Other Beneficiaries
• Private Bodies
• Producer Associations
• Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
• Semi-governmental organisations
• State-owned Enterprises

Legal entities established in the following countries and territories will be eligible to receive funding through PRIMA grants: Algeria, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Tunisia and Turkey.

Additionally to the standard eligibility conditions, each participant in a bidding consortium must check their own eligibility for participation/funding in accordance to their national regulations. For Cyprus the National Funding Agency is the Research & Innovation Foundation (RIF).

Consortium requirements

At least four legal entities established in three different countries considered as the Participating States (see above). Each of the three must be established in a different country considered to be PRIMA PS by submission deadline under the relevant call, out of which:

• at least one must be established in an EU Member State or a third country associated to Horizon 2020 and not being a Mediterranean Partner Country (MPC); and
• at least one must be established in a third country bordering the Mediterranean Sea (MPC)

National eligibility conditions

The entities eligible for participation are: Research Organisations, Enterprises and Other Organisations. The number of organisations in the Cypriot Consortium should be between one to three (1-3).

RIF’s Partner Support Center
Telephone: 22205000
Email:  support@research.org.cy.

PRIMA MED

For queries on the PRIMA Programme, Annual Work Plans and Calls for Proposals:

• Fabrice Dentressangle “Project Officer” (Farming Systems Thematic Area)​ – fabrice.dentressangle@prima-med.org
• Marco Orlando “Project Officer” (Water Management Thematic Area) – marco.orlando@prima-med.org
• Mohamed Wageih “Project Officer” (Agro-food Value Chain Thematic Area) – mohamed.wageih@prima-med.org
• Ali Rhouma “Project Officer” (Nexus Thematic Area) – ali.rhouma@prima-med.org

For administrative matters:

• Aliénor de Moucheron –  alienor.demoucheron@prima-med.org
• Abdelwahed Boudjema – abdelwahed.boudjema@prima-med.org

• PRIMA website
• Call text
• RIF announcement page
• PRIMA Annual Work Plan for 2023
• Guidelines for Applicants