Additional activities for the European partnership on accelerating farming systems transition - agroecology living labs and research infrastructures

The funding opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01 is part of the Horizon Europe program aimed at supporting the European partnership focused on accelerating the transition to agroecological farming systems, particularly through living labs and research infrastructures. It is specifically designed to provide continued support for the existing consortium that was previously awarded funding under the topic HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1, while also allowing the inclusion of additional partners from Member States and Associated Countries.

Eligible applicant types include the original consortium members, which must submit proposals through the existing coordinator, ensuring continuity from the prior project. The funding mechanism is classified as a grant, specifically a Horizon Action Grant, where beneficiaries are also permitted to offer financial support to third parties in the form of grants.

Geographically, the funding is available to EU Member States and associated countries, with some allowances for non-EU participants under specific arrangements. The primary sectors targeted include agriculture, focusing on both conventional and organic farming, as well as environmental sustainability and bioeconomy considerations.

The project aims to enhance and upscale existing tools and innovations for farmers, emphasizing real-world application and validation of agroecological practices. Partners are encouraged to pool resources from national and regional research programs to support transnational collaborations.

The expected funding amount totals approximately 30 million EUR annually for each of the years 2025, 2026, and 2027, with a co-funding requirement where the EU covers 50% of eligible costs.

Applications will be accepted in a single-stage submission process, with a deadline set for September 16, 2025. The partnership aims to ensure representation across various climatic and geographic conditions in the EU's network of living labs, aiming to strengthen agricultural resilience and sustainability through innovative practices. The competitive nature of the grant indicates a significant level of interest, with only one indicative grant likely to be awarded for this specific call.

In summary, this grant opportunity seeks to build upon ongoing initiatives in agroecology, fostering partnerships that will streamline sustainable agricultural practices and facilitate the transition towards a more resilient farming system across Europe.

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01, focused on providing additional support to the European partnership for accelerating farming systems transition, specifically agroecology living labs and research infrastructures. The call aims to fund additional activities, potentially involving new partners, to enhance the partnership's scope and duration, aligning with Article 24(2) of the Horizon Europe Regulation.

The original consortium that secured funding under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1 is considered uniquely positioned to submit a proposal, given their existing expertise and implementation of the partnership's objectives. This call seeks proposals that align with the partnership's co-created strategic research and innovation agenda.

Key activities should include a balanced mix of financial support to third parties (grants) and internal activities. These activities encompass calls for research projects, establishing an EU-wide network of agroecology living labs and research infrastructures, developing indicators and tools for monitoring agroecology transition and sustainability, and supporting evidence-based policy-making at various levels. The partnership should focus on delivering and scaling up ready-to-use tools and solutions for farmers, ensuring widespread adoption of results by relevant stakeholders.

The partnership is expected to pool financial resources from national and regional research programs to implement joint transnational calls, allowing ample time for co-funded projects. It should also actively seek to include new partners from Member States and Associated Countries not currently in the consortium. Efforts should be made to promote agroecological farming in countries with limited understanding and uptake, ensuring a balanced representation of pedo-climatic conditions and bio-geographical regions within the EU-wide network of living labs. The partnership should address agroecology transition across all farming systems, including conventional and organic farming, to support the development and sustainability of the organic sector and promote widespread adoption of agroecological practices.

Proposals should describe specific activities to strengthen complementarities with related Horizon Europe Missions and Partnerships, as well as enhance international collaborations. The evaluation process will consider the existing context, the scope of the initial evaluation, and related grant agreement obligations. A separate document should outline additional activities and partners and how they will be integrated into the grant agreement.

General conditions for participation include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
2. Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries; refer to the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other Eligible Conditions: The Joint Research Centre (JRC) can participate. Projects using satellite data must utilize Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS. The proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1, with the possibility of including additional partners.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5a. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5b. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The action will be implemented as an amendment to the grant agreement concluded under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1. The funding rate is 50% of eligible costs. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 10 000 000 per third party for the duration of Horizon Europe. Retroactive starting dates may be considered if justified.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):

Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE COFUND TOP-UP).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE COFUND).
Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide and HE MGA.
Call-specific instructions and information on financial support to third parties are available.
Annual Work Programme (HE COFUND) is also available.

Additional documents include:

HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2025 – 14. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview for various topics under Cluster 6 Call 02 is provided, including:

HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-01: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-02: EUR 19 500 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-03: EUR 10 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-04: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-CLIMATE-05: EUR 24 000 000 (2025), EUR 23 000 000 (2026), EUR 23 000 000 (2027)
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-01: EUR 13 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-02: EUR 6 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-03: EUR 6 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-COMMUNITIES-04: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01: EUR 30 000 000 (2025), EUR 30 000 000 (2026), EUR 30 000 000 (2027)
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-02: EUR 40 000 000 (2025), EUR 40 000 000 (2026), EUR 40 000 000 (2027)
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-03: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-04: EUR 11 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-05: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-06: EUR 16 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-07: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-08: EUR 6 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-09: EUR 3 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-10: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-11: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-12: EUR 10 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-13: EUR 2 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-14: EUR 12 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-15: EUR 50 000 000 (2025), EUR 45 000 000 (2026), EUR 35 000 000 (2027)
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-16: EUR 6 000 000
HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-17: EUR 8 000 000

The opening date for submission is May 6, 2025, and the deadline is September 16, 2025, at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The indicative number of grants varies per topic.

There are 17 partner search announcements related to this topic.

In summary, this call provides an opportunity for the existing HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1 consortium to secure additional funding to continue and expand their efforts in accelerating the transition to agroecological farming systems across Europe. The focus is on creating a sustainable network of living labs and research infrastructures, developing practical tools for farmers, and supporting evidence-based policies to promote agroecology. The call encourages the inclusion of new partners and the widespread adoption of agroecological practices, contributing to a more sustainable and resilient agricultural sector.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is primarily a consortium. However, the proposal must be submitted by the coordinator of the consortium that received funding under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1. Additional partners, including those from Member States and Associated Countries not already in the consortium, can be included. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may also participate as a member.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Programme Cofund Action (HORIZON-COFUND). This is intended to co-fund national or regional programs. The action is implemented through an amendment of an existing grant agreement. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement: A consortium is required, but with the specific condition that the coordinator must be the same as the one from the previously funded project HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1. Additional partners can be included.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes Member States and Associated countries. The partnership should seek to include additional partners, including from Member States and Associated countries not yet in the consortium funded under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1. 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 Europe projects.

Target Sector: The target sector is agriculture/food, specifically focusing on accelerating the farming systems transition through agroecology living labs and research infrastructures. This includes conventional and organic farming. It also touches on climate action and environmental sustainability within the context of food production.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions Member States and Associated countries, indicating a focus on the European Union and associated nations. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have specific provisions for funding participation in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The project stage is continuation and upscaling. The action aims to continue providing support to an existing European partnership, building upon the work already achieved under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1. It focuses on upscaling concrete tools, solutions, and innovations for farmers.

Funding Amount: The budget overview provides a breakdown of funding for various topics under Cluster 6, Call 02. For the HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01 topic, the budget is 30,000,000 EUR for each of the years 2025, 2026 and 2027. Other FARM2FORK topics have different budget allocations.

Application Type: The application type is a single-stage open call. The submission session is now available for all topics.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant. They may also provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Application Stages: The application process appears to be a single-stage process, as indicated by the "single-stage" designation in the call information.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants is provided for each topic. For HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01, the indicative number of grants is 1.

Co-funding Requirement: The funding rate is 50% of the eligible costs. This is justified by the pooling of proposers' in-kind contributions and in-house activities and by the nature of activities to be performed, indicating a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01, is a co-funded action aimed at providing continued support to the European partnership focused on accelerating the transition of farming systems through agroecology living labs and research infrastructures. It's specifically designed for the consortium that previously received funding under HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01-1, although additional partners can join. The core objective is to scale up existing tools, solutions, and innovations to promote agroecological farming practices across Europe, encompassing both conventional and organic farming systems. The funding mechanism is a grant, with a 50% funding rate, and the selected consortium is expected to pool financial resources from national or regional research programs to implement joint calls for transnational proposals. The call emphasizes the importance of aligning with the partnership's strategic research and innovation agenda, promoting agroecological farming in countries with limited understanding, and ensuring a balanced representation of pedo-climatic conditions and bio-geographical regions in the EU-wide network of agroecology living labs. The coordinator of the existing FARM2FORK consortium is uniquely placed to apply and is expected to submit the proposal. The call is a single-stage process with a deadline of September 16, 2025. The successful applicant will receive a grant to amend the existing grant agreement. The indicative budget for the HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01 topic is 30,000,000 EUR per year for 2025, 2026 and 2027 and only one grant is expected to be awarded.