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Call key data

Harnessing the multifunctional potential of soil biodiversity for healthy cropping systems

Funding Program

Horizon Europe: Missions

Call number

HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-06

deadlines

Opening
08.05.2024

Deadline
08.10.2024 17:00

Funding rate

70% (NPO:100%)

Call budget

€ 16,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

€ 8,000,000.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

Activities under this topic contribute to the implementation of the Mission A Soil Deal for Europe’ in particular to its specific objective 4 "reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration" and 6 "improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity” dealing with the most urgent soil health challenges. Activities will also contribute to the targets of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and of the Farm to Fork strategy on pesticide use reduction (reducing the use and risk of pesticides by 50% and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50%), the EU Action Plan on the Development of Organic Production, the Common Agricultural Policy, and will support the objectives of the future Nature Restoration Law and of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP-15. Activities will also provide knowledge to improve integrated pest management practices, directly contributing to the achievement of several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in particular SDG´s target 12.2 of achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources by 2030.

Call objectives

Below ground biodiversity plays a major role in soil structure, nutrient supply, water cycling, nutrient uptake by plants, and in the biocontrol of plant pests and diseases. The interactions between communities of soil organisms, crops and their environment (holobiont) profoundly influence crop, soil and agroecosystem health and productivity. Notably, the interplay between soil fauna, soil microbial community, soil chemistry, and plant immune responses can be enhanced to harness the potential of soil ecosystem to defend against pathogens, pests and other detrimental organisms and to promote plant health and productivity. By managing soil ecosystems to enhance soil health through farming practices (e.g., crop rotation, use of microbiome solutions, etc.), it is possible to support plant defences, suppress diseases, improve nutrient availability and enhance plant resilience to various stressors. In addition, agricultural sustainability will be increased and contribute to climate change mitigation.

There is a need to develop, test and deploy management practices that, by enhancing soil health, will facilitate, for instance, the management of soil-borne plant pests and diseases (e.g., bacteria, fungi, nematodes, root-feeding insects), and support ground nesting pollinators.

Proposed activities should:

  • Develop and test site-specific innovations including management practices, solutions and tools that promote soil biodiversity, enhance soil health, stimulate plant growth, reduce chemical inputs to control soil borne plant diseases and root-feeding insects, and support ground nesting pollinators.
  • Set up demonstration sites to test the proposed innovations and promote the benefits of soil biodiversity and healthy soils not only for growers and the agroecosystem but for the entire food value chain.
  • Assess the social, economic and environmental issues associated with the proposed innovative solution, including trade-offs, the impact on labour, safety culture, and risk management on farms;
  • Generate comprehensive capacity building material, organize trainings or knowledge sharing activities, including the development of guidelines to accelerate the dissemination, uptake and upscale of results.
  • Enhance peer-to-peer learning with relevant stakeholders from farmers and advisors to policy makers and consumers, supporting a coordinated scientific and policy approach towards healthy soils.

Proposals should focus on arable crops. Work under this topic should be carried out in various pedo-climatic zones and benefit both the conventional and the organic farming as reflected in the expertise of the consortia. Agroecological approaches such as those developed for example under organic farming should be capitalised on and given due attention in the proposed activities.

Proposals must implement the ‘multi-actor approach’ including a range of actors to ensure that knowledge and needs from various sectors such as researchers, farmers, advisors, and industry including SMEs are brought together. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) to implement activities in the demonstration sites and encourage end-user engagement.

Proposals should include a dedicated task and appropriate resources to collaborate with other projects funded under this topic as well as to capitalise on activities and results from relevant Horizon projects such as EXCALIBUR, SoildiverAgro, EcoStack, IWMPRAISE, SOILGUARD, WHEATBIOME, TRIBIOME, BIOservicES, SOB4ES, GOOD, AGROSUS and CONSERWA and those to be funded under topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-7: Innovations in plant protection: alternatives to reduce the use of pesticides focusing on candidates for substitution) and HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-05: Soil health, pollinators and key ecosystem functions to avoid duplication, and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact.

Proposals should demonstrate a route towards open access, longevity, sustainability and interoperability of knowledge/data and outputs through close collaboration with the Joint Research Centre’s EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), the EU Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity and the project SoilWISE. In particular, proposals should ensure that relevant data, maps and information can potentially be available publicly through the EUSO.

Potentially, the projects funded under this topic could also cooperate with living labs and lighthouses that will be created in this and future calls of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’.

read more

Expected results

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

  • Soil and crop health are enhanced, sustaining crop productivity and food security while promoting the stability and resilience of agriculture and increasing agrobiodiversity.
  • The dependence on external inputs in crop management is reduced through effective plant-soil interactions and exploiting the potential of the soil microbiome.
  • Harnessing the role of soil biodiversity through a better knowledge of the relationship between biodiversity and soil functions.
  • The availability of integrated pest management practices is enlarged.
  • Increased and accelerated uptake of good practices which enhance plant and soil health for effective crop management supporting long-term provision of ecosystem services.

Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan), Belarus (Беларусь), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Faeroes (Føroyar / Færøerne), Georgia (საქართველო), Iceland (Ísland), Israel (ישראל / إِسْرَائِيل), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), Morocco (المغرب), New Zealand (Aotearoa), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom

eligible entities

Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)

Mandatory partnership

Yes

Project Partnership

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States
  • third countries associated to Horizon Europe - see list of particpating countries

Only legal entities forming a consortium are eligible to participate in actions provided that the consortium includes, as beneficiaries, three legal entities independent from each other and each established in a different country as follows:

  • at least one independent legal entity established in a Member State; and
  • at least two other independent legal entities, each established in different Member States or Associated Countries.

Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.

A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.

Specific cases:

  • Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
  • Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
  • Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
  • EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
  • Joint Research Centre (‘JRC’)— Where provided for in the specific call conditions, applicants may include in their proposals the possible contribution of the JRC but the JRC will not participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. Applicants will indicate the contribution that the JRC could bring to the project based on the scope of the topic text. After the evaluation process, the JRC and the consortium selected for funding may come to an agreement on the specific terms of the participation of the JRC. If an agreement is found, the JRC may accede to the grant agreement as beneficiary requesting zero funding or participate as an associated partner, and would accede to the consortium as a member.
  • Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members (e.g. European research infrastructure consortia (ERICs)) may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. However, if the action is in practice implemented by the individual members, those members should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible.

other eligibility criteria

Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in the introduction to this Mission.

Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) to implement demonstration sites and encourage stakeholder engagement. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000. Applicants should review Annex B of the General Annexes' standard conditions for 'financial support to third parties' for FSTP calls.

Additional information

Topics

Agriculture & Forestry, Fishery, Food, Soil quality

Relevance for EU Macro-Region

EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

Additional Information

All proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funders & Tenders Portal electronic submission system (accessible via the topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.

Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents, e.g. plan for the exploitation and dissemination of the results including communication activities, etc.

The application form will have two parts:

  • Part A (to be filled in directly online) contains administrative information about the applicant organisations (future coordinator and beneficiaries and affiliated entities), the summarised budget for the proposal and call-specific questions;
  • Part B (to be downloaded from the Portal submission system, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded as a PDF in the system) contains the technical description of the project.

Annexes and supporting documents will be directly available in the submission system and must be uploaded as PDF files (or other formats allowed by the system).

The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages.

Call documents

Horizon Missions 2023-2024Horizon Missions 2023-2024(2860kB)

Contact

EU Missions in Horizon Europe
RTD-HORIZON-EUROPE-MISSIONS@ec.europa.eu
Website

National Contact Points for Horizon Europe
Website

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