Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on intercropping adapted varieties

The EU announced a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, titled "Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on intercropping adapted varieties," with the topic ID HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-09. This initiative, categorized as a Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA), will provide funding through a lump sum format (HORIZON-AG-LS) specifically tailored to organic crop breeding. The application period will open on April 20, 2027, and close on September 22, 2027. The total budget for this call is €12 million, aiming to distribute two grants of approximately €6 million each.

The primary goal of the initiative is to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector by developing varieties that are better suited to intercropping systems. This addresses a critical gap in current agricultural practices, where existing varieties are primarily optimized for monoculture, hindering performance in diverse cropping environments. It seeks to advance understanding of key plant traits, develop innovative breeding approaches, and establish testing protocols for producing crop varieties that improve pest management, water use efficiency, soil fertility, and overall productivity in intercropping settings.

Eligible applicants include research institutions, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, and civil society organizations with expertise in agriculture and plant breeding. The funding will also allow recipients to offer financial support to third parties, capped at €60,000 each. A collaborative approach involving multiple stakeholders is encouraged, ensuring a comprehensive exploration of plant interactions and development of effective breeding strategies. The projects are expected to build on findings from prior EU-funded research initiatives, emphasizing a participatory methodology that incorporates input from farmers and other key actors in the sector.

Overall, this call aligns with EU policies aimed at enhancing organic production, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices, reflecting a wider commitment to fostering eco-friendly and resilient food systems across Europe.

The EU Funding and Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program, specifically focusing on "Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on intercropping adapted varieties" with the topic ID HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-09. This is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) with a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] and a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date is 20 April 2027, and the deadline for submission is 22 September 2027, 17:00:00 Brussels time. The topic budget for the year 2027 is 12,000,000 EUR, and the indicative number of grants is around 6,000,000 EUR with 2 grants.

The expected outcomes of the projects are to boost the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector by providing organic breeders with a comprehensive toolbox to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping and suitable for organic production. It also aims to improve the understanding of key target traits for developing varieties adapted to intercropping farming systems, benefiting all agricultural systems, and establish 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.

The scope of the proposals should address the challenge that plant breeding has focused on maximizing yield in single species stands for monocropping systems, leading to highly productive yet specialized varieties that may not perform well in intercropping systems. To support farming practices that promote agrobiodiversity, there is a need to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping.

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 and ideally encompass both aboveground crop interactions and belowground dynamics between intercropped roots and soil organisms.

Develop new organic breeding approaches that prioritize enhancing crop performance within multi-species systems, emphasizing 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, proposals 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. They are also encouraged to consider the data, expertise, and services offered by European research infrastructure 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, the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, and the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Admissibility conditions require adherence to the 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. Eligible countries are 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 are also detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria 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 detailed in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is also described in Annex F.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021. Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party in the form of grants, as described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions are described in the specific topic of the Work Programme.

Application and evaluation forms, as well as the model grant agreement (MGA), are available in the Submission System. Additional guidance and model grant agreements include the HE Programme Guide, Lump Sum MGA, detailed budget table (HE LS), information on financial support to third parties (HE), and guidance on lump sums. Additional documents include the HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027, HE Framework Programme 2021/695, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, and various rules and agreements related to legal entity validation, financial capacity assessment, and grant management.

The call also provides resources for partners, including partner search announcements, a start submission link, topic Q&As, and general FAQs. Support is available through the Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk, and Partner Search.

This Horizon Europe call aims to enhance organic crop breeding by focusing on intercropping-adapted varieties. It seeks to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector by providing breeders with tools and knowledge to develop varieties suited for intercropping systems. The call encourages research into plant interactions, the development of new breeding approaches, and the identification of superior crop combinations. It also supports the development of testing criteria and methods for evaluating genotypes in intercropping conditions. The call aligns with EU policies promoting sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, and organic production. The funding is provided as a lump sum, and projects can offer financial support to third parties for testing and demonstrating new breeding approaches.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant organizations involved in research and innovation in the agriculture and food sectors. The program also mentions the Enterprise Europe Network which focuses on SMEs.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant. The program also allows beneficiaries to provide financial support to third parties in the form of grants, with a maximum amount of EUR 60,000 per third party.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, given the scope and complexity of the research and innovation actions, it is highly likely that a consortium of multiple applicants is preferred or even required to effectively address the topic's objectives. The partner search announcements also suggest that consortia are expected.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The primary geographic eligibility is for EU member states and associated countries as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. The opportunity also 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.

Target Sector: The program targets the agriculture and food sectors, specifically focusing on organic crop breeding, agrobiodiversity, and intercropping systems. It also touches upon environmental and biological domains. The specific topics mentioned are Biodiversity and Circular Bioeconomy, as well as Zero Pollution.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity refers to EU member states, non-EU associated countries, and non-EU/non-associated countries that have made specific provisions for funding participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The project stage varies depending on the type of action. Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) typically focus on research and development, while Innovation Actions (IA) focus on demonstration and validation. The program aims to advance pre-existing breeding material towards the development of Organic Heterogeneous Material (OHM) and/or Organic Varieties Suitable for Organic Production (OVSOP) for intercropping, suggesting a development and validation stage.

Funding Amount: The funding ranges vary depending on the specific topic and type of action:
HORIZON-RIA: typically around EUR 4 million to EUR 8 million per project.
HORIZON-IA: typically around EUR 5 million to EUR 7 million per project.
HORIZON-CSA: typically around EUR 3 million to EUR 7 million per project.
There are also some smaller RIA projects with funding around EUR 4 million to EUR 5 million or even EUR 6 million.

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 is a single-stage process.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly stated, but the indicative number of grants for each topic suggests that the success rate is likely to be in the 10 to 39% range or lower, given the competitiveness of Horizon Europe calls.

Co-funding Requirement: The co-funding requirement is not explicitly stated, but Horizon Europe grants typically fund a significant portion of the project costs, implying that some level of co-funding may be required, although this is not explicitly mentioned.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call focuses on enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding, with a specific emphasis on developing varieties adapted to intercropping systems. The call aims to boost the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector by providing breeders with tools and knowledge to develop varieties suitable for organic production and intercropping. Projects should provide novel insights into plant interactions, develop new breeding approaches, identify superior crop combinations, and contribute to the development of testing and selection criteria. The call is structured around Research and Innovation Actions (RIA), Innovation Actions (IA), and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), with funding ranging from EUR 3 million to EUR 8 million per project. The call is open to a wide range of applicants from EU member states and associated countries, and encourages collaboration with relevant projects and European research infrastructure. The application process involves a single-stage submission, and eligible costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum. The call is relevant to EU policies related to agriculture, food, biodiversity, and organic production.