Thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) in East Africa

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal has announced a grant opportunity titled "Thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) in East Africa" as part of the EUBA Call Research to reduce entomological knowledge gaps for plant health risk assessment, referenced as EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01. This grant is intended to fund research focused on the thermal ecology and biology of the false codling moth, which poses a significant threat to plant health and agriculture through its potential impact on EU crops.

The eligible applicants are defined as competent organizations designated by EU Member States under Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002. This includes research organizations, public entities, and non-profit organizations; however, it excludes individuals, startups, SMEs, or private enterprises unless specifically designated. The funding type is classified as a grant, which provides direct financial contributions to successful applicants. There is no explicit requirement for consortia in the application process, allowing for single applicants.

Geographically, the grant is available to organizations within the EU Member States, although the research will concentrate on East Africa. The project aims to address knowledge gaps related to pest risk assessment in agriculture, with a focus on the entomological aspects of the false codling moth.

The total budget allocated for this grant is €700,000 for the year 2025, distributed across three specific lots, with each lot potentially receiving around €233,000. The anticipated range for funding per project is between €200,000 and €1 million, although the exact distribution per lot may vary. The application process is characterized as an open call with a single-stage submission, which has a deadline of July 23, 2025.

Additional details stipulate that applicants need to adhere to admissibility conditions, financial and operational capacity criteria, and submission modalities as described in the official call documents. A clarification document has been published to assist applicants in understanding the requirements, and a variety of supporting documents are made available through the portal.

In summary, this grant supports EU-designated organizations in conducting crucial research on the false codling moth's thermal ecology in East Africa. The initiative is aligned with the European Food Safety Authority's mission to enhance plant health and safeguard the agricultural sector within the EU. The streamlined single-stage application process aims to facilitate access to research funding, with detailed guidance provided through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

The EU Funding & Tenders Portal presents a call for proposals titled "Thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) in East Africa" under the programme "EUBA Call Research to reduce entomological knowledge gaps for plant health risk assessment (EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01)". The topic code is EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01-02-Lot2.

This is an EUBA Type of Action with a single-stage submission process. The call opened on 30 April 2025 and has a deadline of 23 July 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

A clarification (n.1) has been published in the "Topic conditions and documents" section under "Call document and annexes" on 23 May 2025.

The conditions for this call are as follows:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout, with eligibility criteria as described in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document.
2. Eligible Countries, with eligibility criteria as described in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document. To be eligible, applicants must be on the list of competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. This list is regularly updated by EFSA Management Board and is available for consultation using the provided link: https://efsa.force.com/competentorganisations/s/
3. Other Eligible Conditions, as described in section 2.2 of the call for proposals document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion, as described in section 2.4 of the call for proposals document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes, with Evaluation and Award criteria as described in section 2 and 2.5 of the call for proposals document. Submission modalities are described in section 3 of the call for proposals document.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds, with Evaluation and Award criteria as described in section 2 and 2.5 of the call for proposals document. Submission modalities are described in section 3 of the call for proposals document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, described in section 'Indicative procedure timetable' page 2 of the call for proposals document.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants, as described in section 1.5 of the call for proposals document and in the Draft Grant agreement.

The call documents and annexes include:

Call for proposals
Annex 1 draft Grant Agreement
Clarification n.1

Additional documents provided are:

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 indicates a total budget of EUR 700,000 for the year 2025. The call is structured into three lots: EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01-01-Lot1, EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01-02-Lot2, and EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01-03-Lot3.

There are 11 partner search announcements available for this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics.

To start the submission process, applicants must access the Electronic Submission Service via the submission button, selecting the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement. Existing draft proposals can be accessed through the Funding & Tenders Portal.

For help related to this call, contact EFSAProcurement@efsa.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

The call focuses on research to reduce entomological knowledge gaps for plant health risk assessment, specifically concerning the thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) in East Africa. The EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01-02-Lot2 topic aims to address these knowledge gaps through research grants. Applicants must meet specific eligibility criteria, including being on the list of competent organizations designated by Member States. The submission process is single-stage, with a deadline in July 2025. The total budget for the call is EUR 700,000, divided across three lots. The Funding & Tenders Portal provides all necessary documents, guidelines, and support for applicants.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are competent organisations designated by the Member States in accordance with Article 36 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002 and Commission Regulation (EC) 2230/2004. The list of these organizations is regularly updated by the EFSA Management Board.

Funding Type: Grant. This is indicated by the presence of a draft Grant Agreement as an annex and references to legal and financial set-up of the grants.

Consortium Requirement: The text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the presence of a partner search announcement section suggests that consortia are possible and perhaps encouraged.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The eligible countries are EU Member States, as applicants must be on the list of competent organizations designated by the Member States.

Target Sector: This program targets the plant health sector, specifically research to reduce entomological knowledge gaps for plant health risk assessment. The specific focus is on thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth).

Mentioned Countries: EU Member States are implicitly mentioned as the eligible applicants must be designated by the Member States. East Africa is also mentioned in the context of the false codling moth.

Project Stage: The project stage is not explicitly mentioned, but given the focus on research to reduce knowledge gaps, it is likely to be in the research or development stage.

Funding Amount: The budget for the topic is EUR 700,000. It is not clear how many grants will be awarded from this budget.

Application Type: Open call. The call is open for submission.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a grant.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not specified in the provided text.

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

Summary:

This opportunity is a grant call under the EUBA Call Research to reduce entomological knowledge gaps for plant health risk assessment (EUBA-EFSA-2025-PLANTS-01) program. The call specifically focuses on research related to the thermal ecology and biology of Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) in East Africa. The total budget for the topic is EUR 700,000. Eligible applicants are competent organizations designated by EU Member States, and the application process is single-stage with a deadline of 23 July 2025. The call is managed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, where applicants can find all necessary documents, submit proposals electronically, and search for potential partners. A clarification document (Clarification n.1) has been published, and applicants are advised to consult all relevant documents and FAQs before preparing their application. The call is being managed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).