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Call key data
Optimisation of manure use along the management chain to mitigate GHG emissions and minimize nutrients/contaminants dispersion in the environment
Call number
HORIZON-CL6-2023-ZEROPOLLUTION-02-1-two-stage
deadlines
Opening
22.12.2022
Deadline
28.03.2023 17:00
Funding rate
100%
Call budget
€ 7,000,000.00
Estimated EU contribution per project
€ 7,000,000.00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
Call objectives
Agriculture is a sector that significantly contributes to GHG emissions in EU and to air pollution, mainly through ammonia emissions. Reducing the environmental and climate footprint of the livestock farming system is therefore of paramount importance. Several practices and technical measures to limit emissions from manure management are already available. Some other techniques are still considered experimental. Despite major advancements, there is still no widespread application of these practices and further research is needed to assess their socio-economic and environmental impacts. Furthermore, there is the need to do a comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of mitigation strategies along the entire manure management chain and to take into account different GHGs and the pollution swapping effect, i.e. decreasing the emission of one GHG that can cause the increase of another one or the increase of the emission of the same GHG at one of the other stages of manure management.
Another important aspect of manure management is to reduce environmental pollution caused among others by ammonia emissions, excess of nitrogen and phosphorus, by nitrate leakages, and by different components of manure, including potential contaminants, on air and water quality, on soil health, on animal health, welfare and productivity and on human health.
Therefore, there is the need to develop further strategies and technologies for livestock farming systems to reduce GHG, ammonia and nitrate emissions from manure through an integrated approach for the management of manure, taking into account all steps: feeding, housing, handling, collection, treatment, storage and application. The following elements should be incorporated:
- Identify and establish inventory of up-to-date manure management practices, technologies and data originating from R&I activities (from feeding to low-emission manure storage and processing, composting, exchange of manure/slurries between livestock and crop farms, manure additives to reduce emissions, etc.) in conventional/intensive, semi-intensive, household and organic livestock farming systems;
- Improve or develop lifecycle assessment methods, models and equipment for the measurement and monitoring of GHG (CH4, N2O), atmospheric and air pollutants (NH3, NOx) at each stage of manure management practices, from feeding to field application;
- Improve knowledge on the fate and persistence in the environment (e.g., water, soil, air) of manure chemicals and biological contaminants, including pathogens antibiotic resistance genes, heavy metals and associated health/environmental risks;
- Demonstrate and test the most efficient strategies and technologies to mitigate GHG emissions and air pollutants from manure at regional/local scale. Activities should take into account relevant practices, strategies and data on GHG, atmospheric and air pollutants mitigation from several livestock farming systems, covering conventional/intensive, semi-intensive, grazing/low input or organic, in different climate/biogeographical regions;
- Cost-benefit assessment of practices/technologies used to mitigate GHG emissions, air pollutants and nitrate emissions from manure, including assessment of pollution swapping effects, trade-offs and co-benefits on animal (e.g., health and welfare, production efficiencies) and environment (e.g., ammonia emissions, nitrate leakage, nitrogen balance and P losses to water);
- Formulate technical guidelines and policy recommendation to enhance the implementation and uptake of methods, technologies or practices to limit emissions and contaminants from manure management.
The proposal should take into account other EU-funded projects, including those funded under the ERA-NETs SusAn and ERA-GAS. Proposals should be based on a gap analysis taking into account the existing legislation and related knowledge.
Proposals must implement the 'multi-actor approach’ and ensure adequate involvement of the farming sector, agricultural advisory services, manufacturers, ecology and nature conservation experts, and other relevant actors.
In this topic, the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.
Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, in particular with China. This topic is within the scope of the Administrative Arrangement between the European Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China on a Co-funding Mechanism for the period 2021-2024 to support collaborative research projects under the Food, Agriculture and Biotechnologies (FAB) and the Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) flagship initiatives.
Actions will contribute to implementing the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology (FAB) flagship initiative, which aims to ensure sustainability of agri-food systems, catering for the needs of a growing population, the reduction of food and agricultural losses and waste, and the provision of safe and healthy foodstuffs. Interaction with other actions developed under the EU-China Climate Change and Biodiversity (CCB) Research Flagship and the Flagship on Food, Agriculture and Biotechnologies (FAB) is encouraged if relevant.
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Expected effects and impacts
In line with the farm to fork strategy, the methane strategy, the EU zero pollution action plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the successful proposal will support research and innovation (R&I) to help farm business reduce local and global GHG and ammonia emissions from livestock farming systems. It will contribute to support policy makers with enhanced knowledge to limit emissions and investigate further measures, inter alia under the common agricultural policy, to achieve reduction targets of 2030 and beyond.
The proposed project is expected to contribute to the reduction of the environmental and climate footprint of the livestock farming systems, through a better understanding of i) the potential of scaling up efficient and innovative manure management practices and technologies, and ii) the impact of emission abatement and contaminant reduction measures on health and environment (air, water and soil) safety.
Expected results
- Improved cost-effective solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and atmospheric, air, water and environment pollutants produced by the livestock manure management chain, both in conventional and organic livestock farming
- Boosted uptake of improved and innovative practices and technologies to optimise manure management (while considering potential trade-offs)
- Improved capacity to better manage manure nutrients, minimizing their losses, increasing circularity and matching demand and supply
- Policy recommendation on improving manure management to mitigate GHG and ammonia emissions and minimize dispersion of undesirable manure components such as biological and chemical contaminants in the environment.
Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Armenia (Հայաստան), 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), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Norway (Norge), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Tunisia (تونس /Tūnis), Türkiye, Ukraine (Україна), United Kingdom
eligible entities
EU Body, Education and training institution, International organization, Natural Person, 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 on pages 21-23 of the work programme.
Additional information
Topics
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).
This call follows a two-stage approach.
This topic is part of the blind evaluation pilot under which first stage proposals will be evaluated blindly. Applicants submitting a proposal under the blind evaluation pilot must not disclose their organisation names, acronyms, logos nor names of personnel in Part B of their first-stage application.
The limit for a first-stage application is 10 pages. The limit for a full application (Part B) is 45 pages. In order to include a business case and exploitation strategy, the page limit in part B of the General Annexes is exceptionally extended by 3 pages.
Call documents
HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 4HE-Work Programme 2023-2024, Cluster 6, Destination 4(608kB)
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