Call 01 - single stage (2027)

This destination will mostly support the EU Commission priority ‘Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature’.

The implementation of the EU Green Deal^[1] will continue to guide R&I in this destination. R&I will develop knowledge and tools to support the implementation of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030^[2] and notably the EU Nature Restoration Regulation^[3], including with the development of nature credits as proposed in the Nature Credits Roadmap^[4]. This destination will also address the EU proposal for a Directive on soil monitoring and resilience^[5], the EU proposal for a Regulation on a forest monitoring framework^[6] and will inform deliberations on EU biodiversity policy after 2030, thus protecting our natural world. Nature-based Solutions are deep-rooted in this destination, which will support the EU climate adaptation strategy^[7] and the EU climate mitigation targets by maintaining or improving natural carbon sinks, since natural ecosystems store large amounts of carbon globally and ecosystems’ carbon sequestration potential is tightly linked to their biological diversity. R&I should particularly assess the ecosystems ongoing ability to sequester carbon and, if necessary, focus more on ecosystems that reliably do so while also providing benefits to biodiversity.

Actions will contribute to the European Ocean Pact^[8], to the European Water Resilience Strategy^[9] and to the EU legislative proposal on pollutants in EU waters^[10] (update of chemical substances listed for control).

R&I activities for sustainable farming, fishing and aquaculture will be supported in alignment with the Vision for Agriculture and Food^[11], the Vision for Fisheries and Aquaculture towards 2040^[12], as well as with the environmental objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy^[13] and the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production^[14]. These efforts will enhance biodiversity and climate-resilient farming practices, ensuring the long-term competitiveness of these sectors within ecological boundaries, and foster innovation to drive sustainable food production.

R&I actions under this destination will encourage international cooperation in line with the global approach on R&I, contributing to EU international biodiversity commitments, notably those taken under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)^[15], which defines targets for the medium term (2030) and goals for the long term (2050). This destination will also support the Paris Agreement^[16], the Sustainable Development Goals^[17] and the United Nations agreement on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement)^[18]. Support to processes of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)^[19] will be continued.

Complementarities and synergies will be ensured with the activities supported by the co-funded partnerships Biodiversa+^[20], Water4All^[21] and the co-funded partnership on Agroecology^[22], and LIFE^[23] projects, particularly on nature restoration and protection.

The destination supports unlocking the unique assets for research and innovation of the EU outermost regions, in line with the EU strategy for outermost regions^[24].

Expected impact: Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway contributing to “putting biodiversity on a path to recovery, and protecting and restoring ecosystems and their services”, and more specifically to one or more of the following expected impacts:

• Knowledge on biodiversity status and trends and drivers of biodiversity loss is improved;
• Innovations, methods, pathways, models and tools are available and used to protect healthy and resilient ecosystems and to restore degraded ones, ensuring the continuous provision of ecosystem services, including for adaptation and/or mitigation to climate change;
• The ongoing biodiversity crisis and its consequences, notably on ecosystem functioning and their services, and the need to monitor, protect, restore and sustainably use biodiversity are better understood to better benefit the whole society in an inclusive way;
• Policymakers and stakeholders, all relevant economic sectors and society are aware and well informed of relevant challenges and opportunities of biodiversity protection, restoration and sustainable use, leading to better implementation of the biodiversity legislation and better valuation of ecosystem services, leading to transformative change towards a nature positive economy;
• Farmers, foresters, land and sea managers, fishers and aquaculture producers have access to key information, and test and implement biodiversity-friendly management practices, while safeguarding food and water security and fostering competitiveness, demonstrating the long-term sustainability of these sectors;
• Progress towards international commitments worldwide on biodiversity is made.

[1] The European Green Deal - European Commission

[2] Biodiversity strategy for 2030 - European Commission

[3] Regulation - EU - 2024/1991 - EN - EUR-Lex

[4] EUR-Lex - 52025DC0374 - EN - EUR-Lex

[5] EUR-Lex - 52023PC0416 - EN - EUR-Lex

[6] Proposal for a Regulation on a Forest Monitoring Framework - European Commission

[7] EU Adaptation Strategy - European Commission

[8] The European Ocean Pact - European Commission

[9] Water resilience strategy - European Commission

[10] EUR-Lex - 52022PC0540 - EN - EUR-Lex

[11] Vision for Agriculture and Food - European Commission

[12] EUR-Lex - 52025DC0075 - EN - EUR-Lex

[13] Key policy objectives of the CAP 2023-27 - European Commission

[14] Organic action plan - European Commission

[15] Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

[16] The Paris Agreement | UNFCCC

[17] THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development

[18] BBNJ Agreement | Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

[19] IPBES Home page | IPBES secretariat

[20] Biodiversa +

[21] Water Security for the Planet

[22] Agroecology Partnership

[23] LIFE - European Commission

[24] COM(2022) Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions

Expected Outcome:

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

• the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector are boosted by providing organic breeders with a comprehensive toolbox to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping and suitable for organic production;
• an improved understanding of key target traits for developing varieties adapted to intercropping farming systems is available to researchers and breeders, benefiting all agricultural systems;
• the foundation for the development of future crop varieties that enhance benefits derived by intercropping, such as improved pest/weed management, increased nutrient and water use efficiency, improved pollination, improved soil fertility, reduced soil erosion and nutrient leaching, and enhanced productivity, is established.

Scope:

Plant breeding has focused on maximising yield in single species stands for monocropping systems, leading to highly productive yet specialised varieties. As a result, most varieties on the market may not perform well in intercropping systems, where productivity and benefits often depend on the interactions between crops. To support farming practices that promote agrobiodiversity, there is a need to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping. However, selecting varieties specifically for intercropping remains a practical challenge for breeding.

Proposals should:

• provide novel insights into interactions and mechanisms that influence intercrop performance by advancing understanding of plant traits affecting both inter- and intraspecific interactions and their impact on crop outcomes. The approach should consider eco-physiological processes^[1] and ideally encompass both aboveground crop interactions and belowground dynamics between intercropped roots and soil organisms;
• develop new organic breeding approaches that prioritise enhancing crop performance within multi-species systems, emphasising the importance of competition, complementarity and facilitation mechanisms between crops;
• identify crop combinations and superior–performing variety combinations that consistently yield well together;
• provide inputs for the development of future testing and selection criteria, as well as tools and methods for evaluating the performance of specialized genotypes in intercropping conditions, laying the groundwork for breeders and bodies entrusted to establish these frameworks.

Particular attention should be given to aspects related to the regulations for the use and development of Organic Heterogeneous Material (OHM) and/or Organic Varieties Suitable for Organic Production (OVSOP) as innovative categories of plant reproductive material.

If applicable, proposal may advance pre-existing breeding material towards the development of OHM and/or OVSOP for intercropping, making use of the knowledge and tools developed within the project.

Proposals should build on the results of relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and ensure collaboration with relevant ongoing projects.

Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructure^[2] in the environment, biological and food domains.

Proposals may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) to, for instance, develop, test and demonstrate the new organic breeding approaches for intercropping.

The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, to the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production^[3] , to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (notably target 8) and to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (target 10).

null

[1] biological and physiological mechanisms that plants undergo to interact with the surrounding physical, chemical and biological environments when cultivated in an intercrop system (e.g. nutrient/water uptake, root structure, interactions with insects/pollinators, disease incidents).

[2] The catalogue of European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) research infrastructures portfolio can be browsed from ESFRI website https://ri-portfolio.esfri.eu/

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29