Open topic: Boosting organic farming for a competitive, sustainable and resilient farming sector

Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• farmers, advisors, agri-food chain operators, policy-makers, public funders and citizens benefit from new knowledge and knowledge exchange, viable innovations, practices and tools that boost the competitiveness, sustainability (economic, environmental, social) and resilience of the organic farming sector;
• knowledge and innovations contribute to an improved sustainability of organic farming systems and an overall improved efficiency of the sector, leading to an increased attractiveness of organic farming in Europe and an improved understanding of its contribution to sustainability (economic, social, biodiversity, climate);
• the EU regulatory framework for organic farming, the Common Agricultural Policy, and the EU’s biodiversity, zero pollution and climate policies are supported by science-based evidence, methodologies and standardized monitoring frameworks.

Scope

The Vision for Agriculture and Food[1] recognises organic farming as an approach with potential to ensure an attractive and predictable agri-food sector where incomes enable farmers to thrive, while at the same time delivering several ecosystem services beneficial for the environment, climate and biodiversity. The Vision also recognises the importance of research and innovation (R&I) for sustainable farming approaches, such as organic farming, to thrive. At the same time, the EU Action Plan on the Development of Organic Production[2] attaches a central role to R&I for achieving the Plan’s objectives. In line with this Action Plan, under Horizon Europe, the EU has funded several R&I projects addressing multiple aspects and challenges of organic production. The purpose of this topic is to fill remaining R&I needs to boost the organic farming sector in Europe.

Proposals should increase knowledge and develop safe, viable and cost-effective innovations to tackle agronomic, sustainability (social, biodiversity, climate, economic), value chain development and/or market-related challenges of organic production. Proposals should develop innovations addressing land-based organic production in a range of pedo-climatic conditions in the EU and Associated Countries. They should demonstrate the contribution of these innovations to facilitating the uptake and implementation of organic production methods by relevant stakeholders, among which farmers. This should include activities to increase networking and knowledge and best practice exchange among farmers (both among organic farmers and with farmers implementing other approaches) and with other relevant actors.

Proposals should establish sites in diverse pedo-climatic conditions to co-create, test, validate and upscale the innovations, and set-up a network connecting these sites.

Both crop and livestock production systems under organic production are in scope of this topic. Proposals should convincingly explain how they will fill existing R&I needs in line with the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production[3] and the Vision for Agriculture and Food[4]. The projects under this topic are also relevant to the EU policies related to the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy, as well as the EU’s biodiversity, zero pollution and climate policies.

If proposals relate to some of the activities covered by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (including the CORE Organic ERA-Net), to the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Work Programmes 2021-2022, 2023-2024 or 2025, to projects funded under the EU Mission Soil[5], and/or to projects funded under the Horizon Europe Partnerships ‘Agroecology’[6], Animal Health and Welfare[7] or FutureFoods[8], they should convincingly explain how they will build on and not duplicate them.

Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this topic, as well as with other relevant ongoing EU-funded organic farming relevant projects, and with projects funded by the Horizon Europe Partnership ‘Agroecology’ or other Horizon Europe Partnerships. Activities falling under the scope of the topics ‘HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-09: Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on intercropping adapted varieties’ and ‘HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-04: Improving understanding of the contribution of the organic farming sector to sustainability’ in this Work Programme are out of the scope of this topic.

Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure adequate involvement of farmers and other relevant stakeholders involved in the organic farming agri-food value chain, taking into account a gender-sensitive and inclusive approach. The type and nature of stakeholders involved besides farmers should be determined in function of the specific challenge/area addressed. Sectors with high economic relevance in different pedo-climatic conditions and various biogeographical regions across Europe should be targeted in a representative way.

Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties in order to support value chain actors in co-creating, testing, validating and/or upscaling the developed innovations. Proposals should promote close cooperation among relevant research and innovation actors across the EU and Associated Countries, ultimately leading to a more efficient organic production R&I ecosystem by linking up to existing related EU-wide initiatives, in particular the Horizon Europe Partnership ‘Agroecology’.

This topic should involve the effective contribution of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines.

Technology Readiness Level - Technology readiness level expected from completed projects

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 6-8 by the end of the project - see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL.

[1] https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/overview-vision-agriculture-food/vision-agriculture-and-food_en

[2] https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/organic-farming/organic-action-plan_en

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29

[4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52025DC0075

[5] https://mission-soil-platform.ec.europa.eu/

[6] https://www.agroecologypartnership.eu/funded-projects

[7] https://www.eupahw.eu/

[8] https://www.futurefoodspartnership.eu/