Emerging and future risks to plant health

The main goal of this opportunity is to address new and emerging risks to plant health, supporting sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems in the EU and beyond. It aims to enhance food security, empower farmers to use sustainable and circular farming methods, and contribute to climate neutrality. The focus areas include understanding what causes plant pests to emerge, developing tools to prevent and manage these pests, and assessing their economic and environmental impacts. Special attention is given to a holistic "One Health" approach, considering the links between plant, human, and environmental health. The geographic scope includes the EU, its outermost regions, Central and Eastern Europe, and encourages international cooperation, especially with Africa.

• Projects must use a multi-actor approach, involving researchers, plant health services, farmers or foresters, advisory services, and industry.
• Proposals must not reveal organization names, acronyms, logos, or personnel names in the abstract and Part B of the first-stage application (blind evaluation pilot).
• Projects should be coherent and complementary with ongoing Horizon Europe projects, including collaboration tasks.
• Financial support to third parties is allowed, up to 10% of EU funding, with a maximum of 60,000€ per third party.
• Projects must address emerging or future plant health risks and propose relevant research or innovation actions.

Examples:

• A project bringing together scientists, farmers, and industry to develop a digital tool for early pest detection.
• An initiative involving advisory services and plant health authorities to test new biological pest control methods in several EU regions.
• A collaboration between research institutes and African partners to study the impact of climate change on pest outbreaks in crops important to both regions.

• Personnel costs for project staff and researchers
• Equipment and materials needed for research, testing, or demonstration
• Travel and accommodation for project meetings or fieldwork
• Costs for organizing stakeholder workshops or multi-actor engagement
• Development and testing of digital tools or pest management methods
• Subcontracting of specialized services
• Financial support (grants) to third parties, up to 60,000€ per third party
• Communication and dissemination activities
• Data management and reporting

Restrictions: Financial support to third parties is limited to 10% of EU funding. Each third party may receive a maximum of 60,000€.

• Budget for this Call: 12.000.000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 2
• Budget per project: 6.000.000€

• Applicants must be from eligible countries as described in the Horizon Europe programme (mainly EU Member States and associated countries; some non-EU countries may also qualify).
• Proposals must use a multi-actor approach, engaging stakeholders from research, plant health services, farming/forestry, advisory services, and industry.
• Proposals must not include organization names, acronyms, logos, or personnel names in the abstract and Part B of the first-stage application (blind evaluation pilot).
• Projects may provide financial support to third parties, with a maximum of 10% of EU funding allocated for this purpose and up to EUR 60,000 per third party.
• Applicants must ensure their project complements ongoing Horizon Europe projects and includes collaboration with projects funded under the same topic.