Horizon 2020 is the new EU funding programme for research and innovation running from 2014 to 2020 with a €80 billion budget. Horizon 2020 supports SMEs with a new instrument that runs throughout various funded research and innovation fields,enhances EU international research and Third Country participation, attaches high importance to integrate social sciences and humanities encourages to develop a gender dimension in project.
Horizon 2020 calls for proposals of the topic: Organic breeding – Increasing the competitiveness of the organic breeding and farming sectors
Horizon 2020 is the new EU funding programme for research and innovation running from 2014 to 2020 with a €80 billion budget. Horizon 2020 supports SMEs with a new instrument that runs throughout various funded research and innovation fields,enhances EU international research and Third Country participation, attaches high importance to integrate social sciences and humanities encourages to develop a gender dimension in project.
Horizon 2020 calls for proposals of the topic: Organic breeding – Increasing the competitiveness of the organic breeding and farming sectors
Topic Description
Specific Challenge:
The availability of organic seeds and varieties (including cultivars) is an economic and technical challenge for organic producers. It is estimated that more than 95% of organic production is based on crop varieties that were bred for the conventional sector and consequently lack important traits required under organic and low-input production conditions. In general, organic farming requires that crops are adapted to more variable conditions, amongst others by effectively interacting with their environment in terms of plant-plant, plant-pollinators and plant-soil interactions. Significant seed multiplication and breeding efforts are needed to improve the performance of the sector through better suited varieties.
Scope:
Proposals will develop a range of measures to increase the availability of organic seeds and varieties for the organic sector. Work will allow identifying relevant (combinations of) traits suited to organic farming conditions, make better use of genetic resources, test existing varieties for organic production, and initiate breeding programmes in response to identified needs of the sector. Proposed activities will be based on partnerships between the breeding, farming and research sectors and fall under the concept of the multi-actor approach. Particular attention will be given to demonstration, testing and training activities in particular in EU Member States where the organic sector is less developed and has particular needs. The topic is open to all types of organic farming systems (e.g. arable farming, horticulture including aromatic and herbs, fruit trees, grasslands, mixed) in various geographical and pedo-climatic and conditions. Selected projects will be requested to work together closely and link up with (the) project(s) funded under SFS-7-2016 topic.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 6 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Expected Impact:
Activities will contribute to improving the availability and quality of seeds and varieties suited to the specific conditions of organic farming. They will contribute to:
- increased knowledge on relevant traits for organic crop production;
- improved access to a wider pool of high-quality seeds, varieties and cultivars for the organic farming sector;
- efficient seed multiplication and breeding methods;
- the availability of tools and resources for pre-breeding and breeding (including improved genotyping and/or phenotyping capabilities).
In the medium to longer term, activities will help to increase competitiveness of the organic breeding and farming sectors throughout Europe and beyond. They will foster low-input agriculture, sustainability of farming practices and quality of products which meet consumer expectations. Conventional systems will also benefit from varieties which are better adapted to lower resource inputs and are more resilient to variable environmental conditions.
Type of call and budget
Budget: 12,000,000 EUR
Type of call: SFS-07-2016-2017 - RIA Research and Innovation action
Topic conditions and documents
- List of countries and applicable rules for funding: described in part A of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme.
Note also that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon 2020 projects - Eligibility and admissibility conditions: described in part B and C of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme
Proposal page limits and layout: Please refer to Part B of the standard proposal template. - Evaluation
3.1 Evaluation criteria and procedure, scoring and threshold: described in part H of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme [, with the following exceptions]:
3.2 Submission and evaluation process: Guide to the submission and evaluation process - Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement:
Information on the outcome of single-stage evaluation: maximum 5 months from the deadline for submission.
Signature of grant agreements: maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission.
Information on the outcome of two-stage evaluation:
For stage 1: maximum 3 months from the deadline for submission.
For stage 2: maximum 5 months from the deadline for submission.
Signature of grant agreements: maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission.
Deadline for application:
14/02/2017
Picture credit: European Commission