EU-wide Advantages & Opportunities for the "Additional activities for the European partnership on accelerating farming systems transition – agroecology living labs and research infrastructures" (HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-01)

1. Direct Alignment with Flagship EU Policies

• European Green Deal & Farm-to-Fork Strategy – provides an R&I backbone for meeting the 50 % pesticide-use reduction, 25 % organic land and 50 % nutrient-loss reduction targets by 2030.

• CAP 2028+, Soil Mission, Biodiversity Strategy & Climate Law – evidence generated through living labs feeds straight into upcoming CAP Strategic Plans, Eco-schemes and Soil Mission indicators, giving projects early mover advantage in shaping future compliance rules.

• EU Taxonomy & Sustainable Food Systems Framework (2025) – harmonised agroecology metrics developed by the partnership can become de-facto EU sustainability benchmarks, easing market access and green-finance eligibility for innovators.

2. Single Market Access & Economies of Scale

• One grant leverages the EU’s 450 + million consumer market, enabling rapid roll-out of agroecological products/services (e.g. biostimulants, carbon-smart inputs, digital advisory tools) without 27 separate approval tracks.

• Harmonised labelling (organic, carbon, animal-welfare) amplifies consumer trust and shortens time-to-market.

• Access to common logistics and certification infrastructures (e.g. TRACES, organic control bodies) reduces transaction costs for SMEs and farmers.

3. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange

• Pan-European Living Lab Network – at least one site per pedo-climatic zone creates a real-life, open-innovation sandbox for 27 MS + associated countries.

• Mobility schemes (Marie-Curie, Erasmus+, COST) can be layered on top, deepening researcher exchange and farmer peer-learning.

• Joint transnational calls (via FSTP up to €10 M/third party) catalyse multinational consortia of SMEs, NGOs and regions that would struggle to collaborate under purely national schemes.

4. Regulatory Harmonisation & Evidence-Based Policymaking

• Co-created EU indicator set for agroecology ensures data comparability, accelerating mutual recognition of sustainable practices across member states.

• Results feed into JRC Knowledge Centres (Bioeconomy, Earth Observation), giving projects priority visibility in EU impact assessments and delegated acts.

• Early engagement with EFSA, ECHA and DG AGRI streamlines authorisation for novel bio-inputs and digital DSS tools.

5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem

• Synergies with EIT Food KIC, EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, Digital Innovation Hubs, Agriculture of Data Partnership deliver complementary mentoring, test-beds and data infrastructures (EOSC, Copernicus, Galileo/EGNOS).

• Clustering with Horizon Europe Missions (Soil, Ocean & Waters, Climate) multiplies dissemination channels and cross-sector pilots (e.g. agroecology-aquaculture interface).

• Participation unlocks entry to more than 2 600 research infrastructures (ESFRI) and 3 500+ SMEs active in ag-tech across EU programmes.

6. Funding Leverage & Blended Finance

• 50 % Horizon co-funding lowers national risk and crowds in CAP Pillar II, Interreg, LIFE, Recovery & Resilience Facility, EIB loans and InvestEU guarantees.

• Cascade-funding model (FSTP) offers a light-touch grant vehicle for farmers & SMEs, filling the micro-funding gap (< €300 k) often ignored by structural funds.

• Alignment with regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) makes projects eligible for ERDF/ESF+ top-ups.

7. Scale & Impact Pathways

• Representative coverage of all bio-geographical regions (boreal to Mediterranean) ensures solutions are stress-tested under varying contexts, boosting replicability and market potential.

• EU-level dissemination (CORDIS, AGRI-FOOD pacts, EU Agroecology Knowledge Hub) maximises uptake among the 10 M EU farmers and 22 M agri-workers.

• Joint IP and standard-setting reduce fragmentation, creating a critical mass that can influence ISO/CEN standards and global agroecology guidelines.

8. Strategic International Positioning

• Strengthens the EU’s soft power as the global reference hub for agroecology, feeding into the AU-EU FNSSA partnership, FAO agroecology dialogues and COP climate negotiations.

• Offers EU companies first-mover export opportunities to markets adopting EU-like sustainability criteria.

9. Opportunities for New Entrants & Widening Countries

• Consortium openness enables Central-Eastern, Mediterranean, Baltic and Outermost Regions to plug into high-level R&I without duplicating structures.

• Capacity-building work packages and shared research infrastructure access accelerate convergence in R&I performance across the Union.

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Actionable Take-Aways for Proposers

1. Map how planned activities feed specific EU policy KPIs (e.g. Green Deal target graphs) – this scores high on excellence & impact.

2. Embed at least one living lab per NUTS2 region lacking agroecology pilots to improve geographic balance and evaluator appeal.

3. Earmark ≥ 60 % of budget for cascade funding to SMEs/farmers; highlight how the €10 M/FSTP cap allows flagship demonstration farms.

4. Describe concrete synergies (letters of intent) with EIT Food, PRIMA, Soil Mission, EIC Transition to showcase ecosystem integration.

5. Provide a policy-uptake plan (briefings, data dashboards) co-designed with DG AGRI & national CAP networks – essential for ‘pathways to impact’.