AI supporting informed advice for farmers and foresters to improve competitiveness and sustainability

Overview

The HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-04 grant opportunity from Horizon Europe focuses on "AI supporting informed advice for farmers and foresters to improve competitiveness and sustainability." It is an Innovation Action grant with a lump sum funding model. The call opens on February 4, 2027, and closes on May 11, 2027, requiring a complete proposal submission without preliminary outlines.

Eligible applicants for this grant must form a multi-actor consortium, which includes universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, rural actors, and advisory service providers. The consortium should contain a balanced mix of complementary knowledge to effectively implement the project objectives. Proposals need to actively engage farmers and foresters in the development and validation of AI solutions.

The funding amounts to approximately €5 to €6 million per project, with a total indicative budget of €11.8 million for this specific call. The project aims to develop, test, and validate AI-driven advisory systems that can synthesize existing agronomic, climate, and market data into actionable insights for end-users, thus increasing the digital and technological capacity of farmers and advisors.

The project should involve development stages that include testing and validation of AI tools in real-world scenarios with end-users, ensuring the solutions are applicable and beneficial. There is no explicit co-funding requirement, although leveraging additional resources could strengthen proposals.

The geographic scope primarily includes EU Member States and Associated Countries, emphasizing participation from across Europe. Successful projects are expected to address key EU policies, including the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy, focusing on sustainability and food security.

This competitive funding opportunity is anticipated to be quite selective, as success rates in similar Horizon actions typically range from 10% to 20%. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate closely to ensure their AI solutions meet real-world needs and drive innovation effectively within the agricultural and forestry sectors.

Detail

This is a Horizon Europe call, specifically HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-04, focusing on "AI supporting informed advice for farmers and foresters to improve competitiveness and sustainability". It is a HORIZON Innovation Action (HORIZON-IA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement. The call is a single-stage process, with a planned opening date of February 4, 2027, and a deadline of May 11, 2027, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The expected outcomes of the projects funded under this topic are: innovative AI-based solutions providing comprehensive, tailored, and impartial advice to farmers and foresters, boosting the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of the EU agriculture and forestry sectors; improved capacity and skills of advisors, farmers, and foresters related to the effective use of AI solutions; and increased use of existing and new data relevant for decision-making for optimized management of operations and the selection of innovative solutions on farms and in forests.

The scope of this call is to leverage digital and AI technologies to revolutionize farming and forestry. Proposals should develop, test, validate, and pilot cost-effective AI-based solutions that utilize existing knowledge reservoirs to provide contextual, effective, and impartial advice. They should capitalize on standardized and comprehensive data from various sources, including public and private databases and in-situ data, to develop AI-based solutions that interpret multimodal inputs. Proposals should ensure the availability of curated and interoperable datasets, making use of privacy-preserving techniques when needed, and involve advisors, farmers, and foresters from across Europe in the co-development, testing, validation, and piloting of the AI-based solutions. Projects should also improve end users’ awareness, understanding, competences, and skills on the use, benefits, and risks of the developed AI-based solutions. Synergies with other relevant EU-funded initiatives and projects are expected, and wide dissemination and uptake should be ensured by demonstrating tangible benefits and added value compared to existing solutions.

The multi-actor approach is mandatory, requiring a consortium with a balanced mix of relevant actors, including SMEs, start-ups, rural actors, universities, and research and technology organizations. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium. Proposals are encouraged to explore the application of data retrieval techniques (e.g., RAG) for the retrieval of up-to-date and context-specific information from external knowledge sources. The effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines is also required.

The projects should align with EU policies related to food security, water and nature, the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the common agricultural policy, and the zero pollution action plan.

Admissibility conditions include proposal page limits 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. Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Other eligible conditions include restrictions on control by entities from China in critical technology areas and the mandatory use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS for projects using satellite-based data. The multi-actor approach is an additional eligibility criterion.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes. Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D, while submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. The legal and financial set-up of the grants is described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, and standard evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations. Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide. Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include HE MGA, HE Unit MGA, Lump Sum MGA, and Operating Grants MGA. Call-specific instructions include a detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance on lump sums. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, EIC Work Programme 2026, ERC Work Programme 2026, 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, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The total budget for the HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE call is divided among several topics: HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-01 (12,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-02 (6,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-03 (3,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-04 (11,800,000 EUR), HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-05 (7,000,000 EUR), HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-06 (4,500,000 EUR), and HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-07 (4,750,000 EUR). The indicative number of grants varies per topic.

This funding opportunity aims to harness the power of AI to provide farmers and foresters with better advice, ultimately making the EU's agriculture and forestry sectors more competitive and sustainable. It calls for collaborative projects that develop and pilot AI solutions, ensuring they are practical, reliable, and beneficial for end-users. By encouraging the use of diverse data sources and involving stakeholders from various backgrounds, the EU seeks to drive innovation and improve decision-making in these vital sectors.

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Breakdown

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types include SMEs, start-ups, rural actors (in particular end-users of the AI-enabled solution), universities, research and technology organisations. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as a member of the consortium selected for funding, either as a beneficiary with zero funding or as an associated partner. Entities established in an eligible country but directly or indirectly controlled by China or a legal entity established in China are not eligible.

Funding Type: The funding type includes HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions (HORIZON-RIA), HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-CSA), and HORIZON Innovation Actions (HORIZON-IA). The eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants, implementing a multi-actor approach. The consortium should have a balanced mix of relevant actors with complementary knowledge.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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 program targets the agriculture and forestry sectors, with a focus on digital technologies, artificial intelligence, data retrieval techniques, social sciences, and humanities.

Mentioned Countries: China is mentioned as a country whose controlled entities are not eligible. The opportunity is focused on Europe, with involvement of actors from across Europe. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries are also mentioned as potentially eligible under specific provisions.

Project Stage: The project stage includes development, testing, validation, and piloting of AI-based solutions.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the type of action:
HORIZON-RIA: around €6,000,000 (1 or 2 grants available per topic)
HORIZON-CSA: around €3,000,000 to €4,750,000 (1 or 2 grants available per topic)
HORIZON-IA: €5,000,000 to €6,000,000 (2 grants available)
Specific amounts for each topic are:
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-01: €12,000,000 (around €6,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-02: €6,000,000 (around €6,000,000, 1 grant)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-03: €3,000,000 (around €3,000,000, 1 grant)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-04: €11,800,000 (€5,000,000 to €6,000,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-05: €7,000,000 (around €3,500,000 per grant, 2 grants)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-06: €4,500,000 (around €4,500,000, 1 grant)
HORIZON-CL6-2027-03-GOVERNANCE-07: €4,750,000 (around €4,750,000, 1 grant)

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.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation based on the expected number of applications.

Co-funding Requirement: The need for co-funding is not explicitly mentioned.

This Horizon Europe funding opportunity focuses on leveraging digital technologies and artificial intelligence to revolutionize the agriculture and forestry sectors. The primary goal is to develop innovative AI-based solutions that provide farmers, foresters, and advisors with comprehensive, tailored, and impartial advice, ultimately boosting the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of EU agriculture and forestry. Projects should develop, test, validate, and pilot cost-effective AI solutions, capitalizing on standardized data from various sources and involving end-users in the co-development process. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and projects must be carried out by a consortium implementing a multi-actor approach, including SMEs, start-ups, rural actors, universities, and research organizations. The call encourages exploration of data retrieval techniques and the integration of social sciences and humanities expertise to enhance the societal impact of the research activities. The opportunity aligns with EU policies related to food security, water and nature, the Vision for Agriculture and Food, the common agricultural policy, and the zero pollution action plan. The call opens on February 4, 2027, and closes on May 11, 2027.

Short Summary

Impact
The funding aims to develop AI-based advisory systems that provide comprehensive, tailored, and impartial advice to farmers and foresters, enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the EU agriculture and forestry sectors.
Applicant
Applicants should possess expertise in artificial intelligence, agricultural sciences, and forestry, and include a balanced mix of research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, and rural actors.
Developments
The funding will support the development, testing, validation, and piloting of AI solutions for agricultural and forestry advisory services.
Applicant Type
This funding is designed for a multi-actor consortium approach, including universities, research organizations, SMEs, start-ups, rural actors, and advisory service providers.
Consortium
A multi-actor consortium is mandatory, requiring collaboration among diverse organizations with complementary expertise.
Funding Amount
The indicative funding range per project is €5,000,000 to €6,000,000, with a total indicative budget of €11,800,000 for this topic.
Countries
The funding is relevant for EU Member States and Associated Countries, with a focus on pan-European participation.
Industry
This funding targets the agriculture and forestry sectors, emphasizing digital transformation and the application of artificial intelligence.

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