Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Build the European food safety knowledge ecosystem, ensuring safe food as the basis for healthy diets and sustainable food systems.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The objective this call is to address, by collection and analysis of experimental and observational evidence, key knowledge gaps identified during EFSA plant health risk assessment and preparedness activities on invasive insect plant pests and on insect vectors of invasive plant pathogens.
This call is divided into three specific groups. Applicants may apply for one or more groups.
Lot 3: This grant aims to enhance knowledge on the taxonomy and biology of the shoot and fruit borers African Leucinodes species (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in sub-Saharan Africa, to reduce key risk assessment uncertainties on this group of moths affecting solanaceous crops in Africa.
Detailed Call Description
A better understanding of the taxonomy and biology of African Leucinodes species is needed to support the assessment of their risk for the EU territory as well as for designing sustainable management strategies.
Specific objectives: – The specific objectives are:
- Specific objective 1: to elucidate the taxonomy and geographic distribution of the African Leucinodes species in sub-Saharan Africa;
- Specific objective 2: to investigate the ecology of the African Leucinodes species, to gain a better understanding of their life cycles and host preferences.
- Specific objective 3: to communicate and disseminate the results of the project to scientists and stakeholders.
In the case of Leucinodes orbonalis (the Asian species), EFSA (EFSA PLH Panel et al., 2024a) concluded on the plant health risk posed by this species, without identifying key uncertainties on its biology and taxonomy. Leucinodes orbonalis is in fact one of the most studied species in Asia (e.g. on Web of Science the key word “Leucinodes orbonalis” yielded on 10.01.2025 1,500 results in all databases).
In contrast, very little is known about the Leucinodes species occurring in Africa, where the taxonomy, biology and distribution of these species is uncertain. Such key taxonomical uncertainties were highlighted in the above mentioned EFSA opinion (EFSA PLH Panel et al., 2024b). There are currently nine species of Leucinodes known to occur in Africa (Nuss et al., 2003 – 2024).
Until 2015, African specimens morphologically appearing ‘similar’ to L. orbonalis were identified as L. orbonalis. Mally et al. (2015) studied African Leucinodes species in detail and concluded that all African material that was described as L. orbonalis was misidentified and instead belonged to a complex of at least five new species with predominantly white-winged adults. Several of these newly considered species cannot be distinguished from the Asian L. orbonalis based on external morphology of the larvae or adults, which explains their previous misidentification as L. orbonalis. To identify these species, dissection of the male genitalia or analysis of the DNA barcode sequence are necessary.
Furthermore, Mally et al. (2015) did not find any specimens of the Asian L. orbonalis among the studied museum material originating from Sub-Saharan Africa. It is therefore considered unlikely that the Asian L. orbonalis would occur in Africa, because the old reports of L. ‘orbonalis’ from Africa were not based on genitalia dissection and/or DNA sequences, making their correct identification impossible: the African specimens identified as L. orbonalis in the literature are considered misidentifications of the species described by Mally et al. (2015) or of still undiscovered species (EFSA PLH Panel et al., 2024b). It has to be noted that also the literature on African Leucinodes published after 2015 appears largely unaware of the African species complex described by Mally et al. (2015). In addition to the description of new Leucinodes species, the genera Sceliodes and Leucinodes were then merged [Mally et al., 2015].
The adult moths of the former Sceliodes are characterised by a grey to brown ground colour of the forewings and, they were kept separately from the predominantly white-winged Leucinodes species. Like Leucinodes, Sceliodes larvae feed internally in Solanaceae fruits. Mally et al. (2015) reinvestigated these two groups of moths and found that their division was based on a typological species concept, and that the overwhelming majority of evidence pointed to a direct close relationship, delegitimising their classification into two distinct genera. Currently, nine species of Leucinodes are known from the Afrotropical region, i.e. Sub-Saharan Africa including Madagascar (Nuss et al., 2003–2024).
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
Maximum budget available: €100.000.00 for a maximum duration of 24 months from kick off meeting.
Thematic Categories
- Agriculture - Farming - Forestry
- Environment and Climate Change
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Rural development
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- International Organisations
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This list is regularly updated by EFSA Management Board and is available for consultation using this link https://efsa.force.com/competentorganisations/s/.
In order to achieve the main objective of the call, proposals can be submitted by one eligible organisation or by a consortium of eligible organisations. In case of a consortium, one of the partners must be identified in the proposal as the consortium leader. The applicant (consortium leader) is responsible for identifying consortium partners.
If you are searching for consortium partners, please contact your Focal Point at the following address: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/partnersnetworks/eumembers
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: For proper understanding of this call it is important to have clarity on the terminology regarding involved organisations and their roles.
Proposals submitted by a sole applicant:
The Applicant submits the proposal to EFSA. There can be only one applicant in the proposal.
As soon as the grant agreement is signed, the applicant becomes the beneficiary. The beneficiary is liable for the technical implementation of the project as described in the proposal which becomes Annex 1 of the grant agreement.
The beneficiary:
- Communicates with EFSA;
- Receives and answers all claims EFSA might have in relation to the implementation of the project;
- Requests and reviews any documents or information required by EFSA and verifies their completeness and correctness before passing them to EFSA;
- Informs EFSA of any event that is likely to substantially affect the implementation of the project;
- Submits the deliverables and reports to EFSA;
- Requests and receives payments from EFSA.
Proposals submitted by consortium:
- The Applicant submits the proposal to EFSA on behalf of the consortium. The applicant is the leading entity of the consortium.
- The Partner is the other entity in the consortium. There can be a minimum of one partner or more partners.
Once the grant is awarded, the grant agreement is signed between EFSA and the applicant (leading entity of the consortium).
Partners do not sign the grant agreement directly but instead sign a mandate (template provided by EFSA) authorising the applicant to sign the grant agreement and any future amendments on their behalf.
As soon as the grant agreement is signed, the applicant becomes the Coordinator and partner/s become co beneficiary/ies. The coordinator and co-beneficiary/ies are referred to as the beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are jointly and severally liable for the technical implementation of the project as described in the proposal. If a beneficiary fails to implement its part of the project, the other beneficiaries become responsible for implementing that part.
The coordinator has the following important roles:
- Takes part in implementing the project;
- Monitors the action is implemented properly;
- Act as intermediary for communication between the consortium and EFSA;
- Receives and answers all claims EFSA might have in relation to implementation of the project;
- Requests and reviews any documents or information required by EFSA and verifies their completeness and correctness before passing them to EFSA;
- Informs EFSA and the partner/s of any event that is likely to substantially affect implementation of the project;
- Submits the deliverables and reports to EFSA;
- Requests and receives payments from EFSA and distributes the funds to partner/s without unjustified delays.
The coordinator may not delegate the above-mentioned tasks to the co-beneficiary/ies or subcontract them to any third party.
The other beneficiary/ies:
- Take part in implementing the project;
- Forward to the coordinator the data needed to draw up reports, financial statements and other documents required under the grant agreement;
- Inform the coordinator of any event or circumstances likely to substantially affect or delay the implementation of the project.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
EU Contact Point
For help related to this call, please contact: EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu