African Union – European Union Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA)

The HORIZON-CL6 call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program focuses on the African Union European Union Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). The call is set to open on April 20, 2027, and the submission deadline is September 23, 2027. The budget for this specific action is €6,750,000, with the provision for at least one grant. Eligible applicants include legal entities from EU Member States, associated countries, and all African Union member states. This exceptional eligibility aims to foster collaboration and includes international organizations with headquarters in a member state or associated country. The call is particularly geared towards diverse participants such as research organizations, universities, private enterprises, and social enterprises. Funded under the HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) framework, the opportunity utilizes grant-based funding delivered as lump sums rather than reimbursement. Applicants must form a consortium requiring at least three independent legal entities established in an African Union member state. The initiative encourages proposals to enhance cooperation between AU and EU members by strengthening the FNSSA Working Group, improving coordination of research and innovation policies, and operationalizing the International Research Consortium (IRC). Geographic eligibility encompasses EU Member States, Associated Countries, and all African Union member states. Projects targeted by this opportunity span the agricultural, food systems, and nutrition sector, with an emphasis on climate resilience, sustainable practices, and promoting innovation among young entrepreneurs, women, and diaspora communities. Funding supports not just direct projects but also includes financial support to third parties, allowing consortia to allocate up to €60,000 per third party to aid startups, SMEs, and other actors in developing and validating innovative solutions. The projects aim to address challenges related to food security, nutrition, rural economic development, and scaling up innovations already initiated by past FNSSA projects. The application process is a single-stage submission, meaning comprehensive proposals must be submitted for evaluation initially rather than through a preliminary screening phase. Co-funding is not explicitly required, but complementarity with other funding mechanisms is encouraged. This call represents a strategic opportunity to enhance bi-regional cooperation and innovation in addressing global food and nutrition challenges, leveraging resources and capacities from across Europe and Africa for sustainable agricultural development.

This is a description of the HORIZON-CL6 call for proposals, which falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically call 02, a single-stage call planned for 2027. The call is focused on the African Union European Union Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). The type of action is HORIZON-CSA, which stands for HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) type is HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS]. The planned opening date for the call is 20 April 2027, and the deadline for submissions is 23 September 2027 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this call are:improved coordination of Research and Innovation Policies of AU and EU Members in the Working Group on FNSSA, and improved coordination of the portfolio of projects funded under the first priority on FNSSA of the African Union European Union High-level Policy Dialogue across all funding instruments of the EU and the AU and its members, in particular the EU Research Framework Programme, Co-funding instruments, the DeSIRA programme and others.

The scope of the proposals should include:implementing the AU-EU roadmap by strengthening the strategic functioning and capacities of the FNSSA Working Group, developing a toolkit of measures and providing robust scientific support, as well as practical administrative help, to enable a better-structured organization; operationalizing the International Research Consortium (IRC) as a platform to implement the roadmap on food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture (FNSSA) by improving the learning environment, including communication channels, to support multi-stakeholder networks and to strengthen R&I coordination and funding also by the use of Financial Support to Third Parties as well as by the use of cascading funding; providing a platform for funders and seed funding to further develop and/or scale-up technical and social innovations created by a previous HLPD-FNSSA projects. These projects must have been funded in support of the EU-AU FNSSA roadmap 2016-2026 and funded by one of the instruments of EU-AU R&I collaboration, they include African Union Research Grants, ERA-Nets (Leap-Agri, FOSC), Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and DeSira; complementing other potential scale-up instruments of the EU Global Gateway Strategy such as the AU-EU Innovation Agenda and the EU International Partnerships such as DeSIRA+; promoting start-ups and other innovative SMEs by providing a space for mentoring and accelerating innovative business concepts, including social innovation and upscaling in view of African or European food business entrepreneurs with special consideration of women, young entrepreneurs and the diaspora using cascading funding opportunities.

Proposals may involve financial support to third parties (FSTP) e.g. to academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate approaches. Proposals are encouraged to work together with the Joint Research Centre via the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Global Food and Nutrition Security to leverage its knowledge base on relevant topics and to expand the reach and dissemination of FNSSA activities.

The general conditions for this call include:Admissibility Conditions, where proposal page limits and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System; Eligible Countries, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries outlined in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide; Other Eligible Conditions, allowing the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to participate as a member of the consortium with zero funding or as an associated partner, and exceptionally allowing legal entities established in all African Union member states and international organizations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country to be eligible for Union funding. Additionally, consortia must include at least three independent legal entities established in an African Union member state; Financial and operational capacity and exclusion, as described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes; Evaluation and award criteria, scoring and thresholds, as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes; Submission and evaluation processes, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual; Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes; Legal and financial set-up of the grants, where eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum, and beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of €60 000 to each third party.

Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information includes:Application form templates, with the application form specific to this call available in the Submission System (Standard application form (HE CSA)); Evaluation form templates, which will be used with the necessary adaptations (Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)); Guidance (HE Programme Guide); Model Grant Agreements (MGA) (Lump Sum MGA); Call-specific instructions; Detailed budget table (HE LS); Information on financial support to third parties (HE); and Guidance: "Lump sums - what do I need to know?".

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; and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The budget overview shows several topics under the same call, with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants. For the specific topic HORIZON-CL6, a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action, the budget is €6 750 000, with an indicative number of 1 grant.

Partner search announcements are available for those looking to collaborate on this topic. The submission system is planned to be opened on the date stated on the topic header. General FAQs and support are available through the Funding & Tenders Portal.

In summary, this Horizon Europe call aims to improve coordination and collaboration between the EU and the African Union in the area of food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture. It seeks to strengthen the FNSSA Working Group, operationalize the International Research Consortium, provide a platform for scaling up innovations, and promote start-ups and SMEs in the food business sector. The call encourages proposals that include partners from both EU and African Union member states, and provides financial support to third parties to foster innovation and development. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and the call follows a single-stage submission process with a deadline in September 2027.

Eligible Applicant Types:The eligible applicant types include legal entities established in EU Member States, associated countries, and exceptionally, legal entities established in all African Union member states. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are also eligible. The call specifically targets academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs, and other multidisciplinary actors. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding as a beneficiary with zero funding, or as an associated partner.

Funding Type:The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Coordination and Support Action (HORIZON-CSA) under the Horizon Europe Programme. Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) in the form of grants.

Consortium Requirement:The opportunity requires a consortium. In addition to the minimum number of participants set out in the General Annexes, consortia must include at least three independent legal entities established in an African Union member state.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, Horizon Europe associated countries, and African Union member states. International organisations with headquarters in a Member State or Associated Country are also eligible.

Target Sector:The program targets the following sectors: food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, research and innovation, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, environment, start-ups, SMEs, and social innovation.

Mentioned Countries:African Union member states, EU member states, EU associated countries.

Project Stage:The project stage targets scaling up technical and social innovations, developing, testing, or validating approaches, mentoring and accelerating innovative business concepts, including social innovation and upscaling. It also targets projects that have been funded in support of the EU-AU FNSSA roadmap 2016-2026 and funded by one of the instruments of EU-AU R&I collaboration, they include African Union Research Grants, ERA-Nets (Leap-Agri, FOSC), Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and DeSira.

Funding Amount:The budget for the topic HORIZON-CL6 is €6 750 000. The indicative number of grants is 1. For other topics under the same call, the budget ranges from €6 000 000 to €22 000 000, with indicative numbers of grants ranging from 1 to 3. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is €60 000.

Application Type:The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support:The 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.

Application Stages:The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates:The success rates cannot be determined from the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement:The text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL6, focuses on strengthening the African Union European Union Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA). It aims to improve coordination of research and innovation policies between AU and EU members, enhance coordination of projects funded under the FNSSA priority, and operationalise the International Research Consortium (IRC). The call encourages proposals that implement the AU-EU roadmap, provide a platform for funders and seed funding, complement EU Global Gateway Strategy instruments, and promote start-ups and innovative SMEs. Legal entities from EU Member States, associated countries, and African Union member states are eligible to apply. Consortia must include at least three independent legal entities from African Union member states. The funding is provided as a lump sum grant, with a budget of €6 750 000 for this specific topic and a single-stage application process. The call also allows for financial support to third parties, with a maximum grant amount of €60 000 per third party. The broader call (HORIZON-CL6-2027-02) includes other topics related to climate, communities, and farm to fork initiatives, with varying budgets and expected outcomes. The overall goal is to foster collaboration between Europe and Africa in addressing food and nutrition security and promoting sustainable agriculture through research, innovation, and capacity building.