Advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA)
Overview
The grant opportunity HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06 aims to support advanced innovative solutions that enhance competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). It operates under the Horizon Europe funding program, specifically as an Innovation Action with a total budget of €12 million, offering up to €6 million per project. The application process is a single stage, with proposals due by April 14, 2026, following an opening date of January 14, 2026.
Eligible applicants include research organizations, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), technology developers, and farmers, emphasizing a multi-actor consortium approach for collaborative project development. The range of eligible project types covers various innovative techniques in CEA, such as greenhouses, vertical farming, hydroponics, and smart automation, along with solutions leveraging artificial intelligence for decision support in agriculture.
Proposals are expected to achieve technology readiness levels (TRL) of 6-7 by the project's conclusion, indicating that the technologies should transition from controlled research to practical applications in real-world environments. Projects should address critical challenges including climate change, sustainability, food security, and operational efficiency related to crop production.
The nature of funding is a lump-sum grant, simplifying financial management. Up to 30% of the total funding can be allocated to provide financial support for third parties, particularly to SMEs involved in testing or validating technologies.
Projects are encouraged to explore new business models and cooperate with various stakeholders to ensure successful market integration of the developed innovations. The overall goal of this initiative aligns with EU strategies for sustainable agriculture and environmental protection, ensuring that solutions developed promote both economic viability and ecological accountability. The competitive nature of the grant suggests a relatively low success rate, estimated between 10% and 39%.
In summary, this grant opportunity seeks to foster innovation in CEA by supporting proposals that develop effective, sustainable agricultural solutions, facilitate knowledge sharing, and strengthen the agricultural sector's resilience and competitiveness through advanced technology integration.
Eligible applicants include research organizations, universities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), technology developers, and farmers, emphasizing a multi-actor consortium approach for collaborative project development. The range of eligible project types covers various innovative techniques in CEA, such as greenhouses, vertical farming, hydroponics, and smart automation, along with solutions leveraging artificial intelligence for decision support in agriculture.
Proposals are expected to achieve technology readiness levels (TRL) of 6-7 by the project's conclusion, indicating that the technologies should transition from controlled research to practical applications in real-world environments. Projects should address critical challenges including climate change, sustainability, food security, and operational efficiency related to crop production.
The nature of funding is a lump-sum grant, simplifying financial management. Up to 30% of the total funding can be allocated to provide financial support for third parties, particularly to SMEs involved in testing or validating technologies.
Projects are encouraged to explore new business models and cooperate with various stakeholders to ensure successful market integration of the developed innovations. The overall goal of this initiative aligns with EU strategies for sustainable agriculture and environmental protection, ensuring that solutions developed promote both economic viability and ecological accountability. The competitive nature of the grant suggests a relatively low success rate, estimated between 10% and 39%.
In summary, this grant opportunity seeks to foster innovation in CEA by supporting proposals that develop effective, sustainable agricultural solutions, facilitate knowledge sharing, and strengthen the agricultural sector's resilience and competitiveness through advanced technology integration.
Detail
This EU grant opportunity focuses on Advanced Innovative Solutions for Improved Competitiveness and Sustainability in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically Call 02 single stage (2026) (HORIZON-CL6-2026-02) and is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement (MGA). The planned opening date is 14 January 2026, and the deadline for submission is 14 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.
The expected outcomes of this grant are to support farmers in transitioning to innovative CEA techniques and decision support tools for sustainable growth optimization strategies, and to improve the competitiveness and sustainability (including climate mitigation and adaptation) of CEA, benefiting all relevant actors.
The scope of the grant is defined as follows: Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) involves controlling and optimizing environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, light, and nutrient concentration. Examples include greenhouses, vertical farms, grow rooms, building-integrated agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, and other innovative farming practices, both land-based and off-land, where technology enables precise regulation of growing conditions.
Proposals should develop innovative farming techniques integrating the latest technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), to achieve a competitive and sustainable transformation in response to global food security and sustainability challenges. The activities should empower farmers and key stakeholders in the agricultural primary sector by enabling them to adopt sustainable, efficient, profitable, circular, and low-emission farming practices. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and AI-driven solutions, the activities should contribute to climate neutrality and climate resilience, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to a sustainable agricultural future.
Proposals are expected to:
Develop and assess advanced, cost-effective, innovative, and sustainable solutions (including nature-based solutions) to address key challenges (including climate change-related and environmental) for crop optimization in CEA. The assessment should cover crop health and yield, energy efficiency, water use efficiency, nutrient management, environmental conditions, cost-effectiveness, automation and technology integration, sustainability and environmental impact, food safety, pest and disease management, scalability, and adaptability.
Develop data-driven decision-making, smart automation, and precision farming techniques, as well as predictive analytics for plant growth optimization (e.g., via AI modeling).
Explore appropriate new business and cooperation models adapted to proposed solutions, considering organization and distribution concepts, and marketability of the resulting products. Consider requirements from relevant EU regulatory frameworks, including pre-market authorization needs where relevant.
Foster knowledge sharing, including training to test and adopt innovative solutions, and provide informed advice for improved competitiveness and sustainability of CEA.
Proposals should develop innovative solutions in both conventional and organic production systems. The projects under this topic are relevant to EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, the European Green Deal policies dealing with environment protection and climate change, and the Apply AI Strategy.
Activities should fall under the concept of the multi-actor approach and allow for adequate involvement of relevant actors including farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists and developers.
To effectively transition these innovations into the market, SMEs should actively be involved in this process. Activities are expected to achieve Technological Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7 by the end of the project.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties, particularly for SMEs providing and/or developing testing, or validating the proposed innovative technologies/solutions. A maximum of 30% of EU funding should be allocated to this purpose.
Proposals should capitalize on relevant research findings from past and ongoing research projects and especially seek synergy with the other project to be selected under this topic and with the project to be selected from the topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-08: Exploring the potential of controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
The general conditions include:
Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Eligible Countries: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach, as defined in the work programme.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end, as set out in Annex 5. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA).
Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.
The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is the Lump Sum MGA.
Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and information on financial support to third parties (HE), along with guidance on lump sums.
Additional documents include:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
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 the year 2026 includes several topics:
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 6,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 10,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-COMMUNITIES-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-01 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-03 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-07 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 3,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 14,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-09 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-10 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 2,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-11 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-12 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 2,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-13 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-14 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.
The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.
For support, applicants are encouraged to read all provisions carefully, consult the Online Manual and Horizon Europe Programme Guide, review the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, and contact the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.
In summary, this grant opportunity aims to foster innovation in controlled environment agriculture by supporting projects that develop and assess advanced, sustainable solutions, promote data-driven decision-making, explore new business models, and facilitate knowledge sharing. It seeks to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of CEA, contributing to food security, climate neutrality, and the empowerment of farmers and SMEs. The call encourages a multi-actor approach, involving farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers, and emphasizes the importance of achieving high Technological Readiness Levels (TRL 6-7) to ensure effective market transition. Financial support to third parties, particularly SMEs, is also encouraged, with a maximum of 30% of EU funding allocated for this purpose. The overall goal is to transform the agricultural sector through technology and AI, making it more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly.
The expected outcomes of this grant are to support farmers in transitioning to innovative CEA techniques and decision support tools for sustainable growth optimization strategies, and to improve the competitiveness and sustainability (including climate mitigation and adaptation) of CEA, benefiting all relevant actors.
The scope of the grant is defined as follows: Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) involves controlling and optimizing environmental conditions like temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, light, and nutrient concentration. Examples include greenhouses, vertical farms, grow rooms, building-integrated agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, and other innovative farming practices, both land-based and off-land, where technology enables precise regulation of growing conditions.
Proposals should develop innovative farming techniques integrating the latest technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI), to achieve a competitive and sustainable transformation in response to global food security and sustainability challenges. The activities should empower farmers and key stakeholders in the agricultural primary sector by enabling them to adopt sustainable, efficient, profitable, circular, and low-emission farming practices. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and AI-driven solutions, the activities should contribute to climate neutrality and climate resilience, reinforcing the EU’s commitment to a sustainable agricultural future.
Proposals are expected to:
Develop and assess advanced, cost-effective, innovative, and sustainable solutions (including nature-based solutions) to address key challenges (including climate change-related and environmental) for crop optimization in CEA. The assessment should cover crop health and yield, energy efficiency, water use efficiency, nutrient management, environmental conditions, cost-effectiveness, automation and technology integration, sustainability and environmental impact, food safety, pest and disease management, scalability, and adaptability.
Develop data-driven decision-making, smart automation, and precision farming techniques, as well as predictive analytics for plant growth optimization (e.g., via AI modeling).
Explore appropriate new business and cooperation models adapted to proposed solutions, considering organization and distribution concepts, and marketability of the resulting products. Consider requirements from relevant EU regulatory frameworks, including pre-market authorization needs where relevant.
Foster knowledge sharing, including training to test and adopt innovative solutions, and provide informed advice for improved competitiveness and sustainability of CEA.
Proposals should develop innovative solutions in both conventional and organic production systems. The projects under this topic are relevant to EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, the Common Agricultural Policy, the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, the European Green Deal policies dealing with environment protection and climate change, and the Apply AI Strategy.
Activities should fall under the concept of the multi-actor approach and allow for adequate involvement of relevant actors including farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists and developers.
To effectively transition these innovations into the market, SMEs should actively be involved in this process. Activities are expected to achieve Technological Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7 by the end of the project.
Proposals may involve financial support to third parties, particularly for SMEs providing and/or developing testing, or validating the proposed innovative technologies/solutions. A maximum of 30% of EU funding should be allocated to this purpose.
Proposals should capitalize on relevant research findings from past and ongoing research projects and especially seek synergy with the other project to be selected under this topic and with the project to be selected from the topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-08: Exploring the potential of controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
The general conditions include:
Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
Eligible Countries: Described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Proposals must apply the multi-actor approach, as defined in the work programme.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: Described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: Described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results up to 4 years after the action's end, as set out in Annex 5. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.
Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA):
Application form templates are available in the Submission System (Standard application form HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form HE RIA, IA).
Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.
The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) is the Lump Sum MGA.
Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and information on financial support to third parties (HE), along with guidance on lump sums.
Additional documents include:
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 9. Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
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 the year 2026 includes several topics:
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 6,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-CLIMATE-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 10,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-COMMUNITIES-01 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-01 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-02 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-03 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-04 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-05 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-07 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 3,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-08 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 14,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-09 - HORIZON-IA: Budget EUR 11,800,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-10 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 2,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-11 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-12 - HORIZON-CSA: Budget EUR 2,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 1
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-13 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 12,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-14 - HORIZON-RIA: Budget EUR 11,000,000, Single-stage, Opening 2026-01-14, Deadline 2026-04-14, Indicative number of grants: 2
Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests.
The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.
For support, applicants are encouraged to read all provisions carefully, consult the Online Manual and Horizon Europe Programme Guide, review the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, and contact the Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, and CEN-CENELEC/ETSI Research Helpdesks.
In summary, this grant opportunity aims to foster innovation in controlled environment agriculture by supporting projects that develop and assess advanced, sustainable solutions, promote data-driven decision-making, explore new business models, and facilitate knowledge sharing. It seeks to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of CEA, contributing to food security, climate neutrality, and the empowerment of farmers and SMEs. The call encourages a multi-actor approach, involving farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers, and emphasizes the importance of achieving high Technological Readiness Levels (TRL 6-7) to ensure effective market transition. Financial support to third parties, particularly SMEs, is also encouraged, with a maximum of 30% of EU funding allocated for this purpose. The overall goal is to transform the agricultural sector through technology and AI, making it more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly.
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Breakdown
Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types for this opportunity include farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers. The call emphasizes the involvement of multiple actors, suggesting a preference for consortia that include a mix of these entities.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA): HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. Additionally, beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity encourages a multi-actor approach, implying that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, although not explicitly stated as a requirement. The involvement of various actors such as farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers is strongly encouraged.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Furthermore, the opportunity mentions 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 Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Target Sector: The program targets the agriculture sector, specifically Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), with a focus on improving competitiveness and sustainability through innovative farming techniques and technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI). It also addresses climate change, environmental protection, and food security.
Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but eligibility extends to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some non-EU/non-associated countries based on specific provisions outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7 by the end of the project. This indicates that the projects should be at the stage of technology demonstration in a relevant environment or system prototype demonstration in an operational environment.
Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06 is EUR 12,000,000. The indicative number of grants is 2, suggesting that the funding range per project is around EUR 6,000,000.
Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. They may also provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.
Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants (2) compared to the broad eligibility suggests that the success rate is likely to be below 10%.
Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly stated, but Horizon Europe projects often require some level of co-funding, which would be detailed in the specific call documents and annexes.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06, focuses on "Advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA)." It aims to transform the agricultural sector by supporting projects that develop and assess cost-effective, innovative, and sustainable solutions for crop optimization in controlled environments. The call encourages the integration of advanced technologies like AI, smart automation, and precision farming to address key challenges such as climate change, energy efficiency, water use, and food safety. The projects should foster knowledge sharing and develop new business models to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of CEA, with activities expected to reach Technology Readiness Levels 6-7. Eligible applicants include farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers, emphasizing a multi-actor approach. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with an indicative budget of EUR 6,000,000 per project, and allows for financial support to third parties up to EUR 60,000. The call is a single-stage application process with a planned opening on January 14, 2026, and a deadline on April 14, 2026. This initiative is part of the broader EU strategy to promote sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate neutrality.
Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, as indicated by the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA): HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. Additionally, beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.
Consortium Requirement: The opportunity encourages a multi-actor approach, implying that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred, although not explicitly stated as a requirement. The involvement of various actors such as farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers is strongly encouraged.
Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Furthermore, the opportunity mentions 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 Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Target Sector: The program targets the agriculture sector, specifically Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), with a focus on improving competitiveness and sustainability through innovative farming techniques and technological advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI). It also addresses climate change, environmental protection, and food security.
Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but eligibility extends to EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some non-EU/non-associated countries based on specific provisions outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-7 by the end of the project. This indicates that the projects should be at the stage of technology demonstration in a relevant environment or system prototype demonstration in an operational environment.
Funding Amount: The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06 is EUR 12,000,000. The indicative number of grants is 2, suggesting that the funding range per project is around EUR 6,000,000.
Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.
Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant. They may also provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, up to EUR 60,000 per third party.
Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.
Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants (2) compared to the broad eligibility suggests that the success rate is likely to be below 10%.
Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly stated, but Horizon Europe projects often require some level of co-funding, which would be detailed in the specific call documents and annexes.
Summary:
This Horizon Europe call, HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-06, focuses on "Advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA)." It aims to transform the agricultural sector by supporting projects that develop and assess cost-effective, innovative, and sustainable solutions for crop optimization in controlled environments. The call encourages the integration of advanced technologies like AI, smart automation, and precision farming to address key challenges such as climate change, energy efficiency, water use, and food safety. The projects should foster knowledge sharing and develop new business models to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of CEA, with activities expected to reach Technology Readiness Levels 6-7. Eligible applicants include farmers, SMEs, start-ups, scientists, and developers, emphasizing a multi-actor approach. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with an indicative budget of EUR 6,000,000 per project, and allows for financial support to third parties up to EUR 60,000. The call is a single-stage application process with a planned opening on January 14, 2026, and a deadline on April 14, 2026. This initiative is part of the broader EU strategy to promote sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate neutrality.
Short Summary
Impact This funding aims to support advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), addressing key challenges such as climate change, food security, and environmental protection. | Impact | This funding aims to support advanced innovative solutions for improved competitiveness and sustainability in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), addressing key challenges such as climate change, food security, and environmental protection. |
Applicant Applicants should possess expertise in controlled environment agriculture technologies, artificial intelligence, precision farming, and sustainable agricultural practices. | Applicant | Applicants should possess expertise in controlled environment agriculture technologies, artificial intelligence, precision farming, and sustainable agricultural practices. |
Developments The funding will support projects focused on developing and assessing innovative, cost-effective solutions for crop optimization in controlled environments, including greenhouses and vertical farms. | Developments | The funding will support projects focused on developing and assessing innovative, cost-effective solutions for crop optimization in controlled environments, including greenhouses and vertical farms. |
Applicant Type This funding is designed for a diverse range of applicants, including research organizations, universities, SMEs, start-ups, large enterprises, farmers, and technology developers. | Applicant Type | This funding is designed for a diverse range of applicants, including research organizations, universities, SMEs, start-ups, large enterprises, farmers, and technology developers. |
Consortium This funding requires a consortium of multiple applicants, emphasizing a multi-actor approach that includes various stakeholders in the agricultural innovation ecosystem. | Consortium | This funding requires a consortium of multiple applicants, emphasizing a multi-actor approach that includes various stakeholders in the agricultural innovation ecosystem. |
Funding Amount The funding amount per project is €6,000,000, with a total budget of €12,000,000 allocated for this topic, expecting to award 2 grants. | Funding Amount | The funding amount per project is €6,000,000, with a total budget of €12,000,000 allocated for this topic, expecting to award 2 grants. |
Countries The funding is available to entities from EU Member States and associated countries, with potential participation from some non-EU/non-associated countries under specific provisions. | Countries | The funding is available to entities from EU Member States and associated countries, with potential participation from some non-EU/non-associated countries under specific provisions. |
Industry This funding targets the agriculture sector, specifically focusing on controlled environment agriculture and innovative farming techniques, aligning with the EU's Farm to Fork strategy. | Industry | This funding targets the agriculture sector, specifically focusing on controlled environment agriculture and innovative farming techniques, aligning with the EU's Farm to Fork strategy. |
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