Boosting agrobiodiversity for food security and sustainable competitiveness

Overview

Supports projects that demonstrate and scale agrobiodiversity practices to enhance food security, agricultural resilience, and farmer competitiveness. Targets land managers, farmers, agri-businesses, researchers, and policymakers to quantify economic and ecological benefits of diversified agroecosystems.

Who Can Apply

Consortia of legal entities (e.g., research institutions, SMEs, farmers' organizations, agribusinesses, public bodies) from eligible countries. Must adopt a multi-actor approach, involving farmers, land managers, and other stakeholders.

Funding Details

• Maximum grant amount: €10,000,000
• Funding rate: Not specified (lump-sum model)
• Total budget: Not specified

What Is Funded

• Quantification of agrobiodiversity’s economic and ecological impact at farm/parcel level, including yield stability, nutritional quality, and resilience to pests/diseases.
• Development of scalable strategies for agrobiodiversity adoption, tailored to local/regional contexts.
• Testing private finance instruments (e.g., nature credits) to improve farmer competitiveness.
• Creation of decision-support tools for risk assessment in farm diversification (e.g., yield, marketability, pricing, pests).
• Cost-benefit analysis of diversification, including labor, management complexity, and input reduction.
• Behavioral studies on adoption barriers and pathways for valorizing diverse agricultural products (e.g., processing, storage, market access).

Technology / Maturity Requirements

• Technology Readiness Level (TRL): 4–6
• Development of technologies above TRL 4 is excluded.

Key Dates

• Open date: 2026-04-16
• Deadline: 2026-09-16

Application Process (High-Level)

• Single-stage submission via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Proposals must follow Horizon Europe lump-sum funding rules and multi-actor approach requirements.

Post-Award Obligations

• Cooperation with the EU Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and potential inclusion of data in the EU Food System Monitoring Dashboard.
• Engagement with the Agroecology Partnership and Mission Soil.
• Dissemination of results to stakeholders, including farmers, policymakers, and agribusinesses.

Geographic Scope & Language

• Eligible countries: EU Member States, Horizon Europe Associated Countries (Norway, Iceland, UK, Switzerland), and select third countries with specific funding provisions.
• Application language: English.

Notes

• Proposals must build on existing EU-funded projects (e.g., Horizon 2020/Horizon Europe, LIFE Programme).
• International cooperation (e.g., with China under the EU-China FAB initiative) is strongly encouraged.
• The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a zero-funding beneficiary or associated partner.