Developing agroecology living labs and lighthouses for climate action under the Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) partnership
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See in 5 min if you're eligible for Developing agroecology living labs and lighthouses for climate action under the Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture (FNSSA) partnership offering max €18.0M funding💰 Funding Details
Funding Description – HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-05
Developing agroecology living labs and lighthouses for climate action under the FNSSA partnership
1. What the Grant Funds
* Setting-up, running and networking agro-ecology Living Labs (LLs) and Lighthouses (LHs) in diverse African pedo-climatic zones.
* Participatory R&I activities that generate, test and upscale agro-ecological practices addressing climate adaptation/mitigation, biodiversity, and socio-economic performance.
* Science–policy–business interfacing, stakeholder training, dissemination and exploitation actions, incl. demonstrations, peer-to-peer learning and policy dialogues.
* Synergies & alignment with existing initiatives (e.g. HEU Partnership “Agroecology”, CEA-FIRST, DeSIRA, EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, forthcoming AU-EU AKIS project).
* Financial support to third parties (FSTP) – small grants (≤ €60 000) for farmers, advisers, local innovators, etc., up to 30 % of the EU lump-sum.
2. Key Funding Parameters
| Element | Details |
|---------|---------|
| Type of Action | HORIZON-RIA (Research & Innovation Action) – Lump Sum |
| Max. EU Contribution per Project | €18 000 000 |
| Indicative # of Projects | 1–2 (subject to budget split by EC) |
| Reimbursement | Single pre-agreed lump sum covering 100 % of eligible costs – no actual cost reporting required |
| TRL Range | 2-6 (knowledge creation → proof of concept / demo in real life) |
| Duration | Typically 48–60 months |
| Financial Support to 3rd Parties | Allowed, grants only, ≤ 30 % of lump sum, max €60 000/3rd party |
3. Eligibility Snapshot
* Consortium minimum (HE Annexes): 3 independent legal entities from 3 different EU MS/AC.
* Topic-specific minimum: + 3 independent entities established in AU Member States, of which ≥ 2 located in the same AU region (N, W, E, C, S Africa).
* All AU Member States (incl. temporarily suspended) are fully eligible for EU funding.
* International Organisations headquartered in an EU MS/AC are exceptionally fundable.
* Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) is obligatory – balanced involvement of farmers, advisors, SMEs, CSOs, policymakers, researchers, etc.
* Gender balance & consideration of intersectional social categories required.
4. Timeline & Procedure
1. Opening: 06 May 2025
2. Stage 1 short proposal: 04 Sep 2025 – 17:00 CET
3. Invitation to Stage 2: ≈ Dec 2025
4. Stage 2 full proposal: 18 Feb 2026 – 17:00 CET
5. GA signature: Q4 2026 (indicative)
5. Evaluation Essentials
* Award criteria (excellence, impact, quality & efficiency of implementation) – scored 0-5, threshold 4 (excellence) / 4 (impact) / 3 (implementation); overall ≥10.
* Lump-sum budget robustness and work-package-cost logic assessed in implementation.
6. Strategic Fit – Expected Outcomes & Policies
Projects must demonstrably contribute to:
* Accelerated availability & adoption of fair, inclusive agro-ecological strategies in Africa.
* Strengthened AU research coordination and experience sharing in line with the FNSSA Roadmap.
* Improved climatic, environmental & socio-economic performance for agri-food stakeholders.
Alignment with: EU Green Deal, AU climate goals, Kunming-Montréal GBF, AU-EU Innovation Agenda (Green actions 4&5 + 1&3), UfM R&I roadmaps.
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-05
1. Single Market Access
- Pathway to 450+ million consumers: Agroecological solutions developed and validated in African living labs/lighthouses can be rapidly commercialised or deployed across the EU thanks to free movement of goods, services and data.
- Pan-EU labelling & certification leverage: Alignment with EU organic and sustainable agriculture schemes (e.g., EU Eco-label, organic regulation 2018/848) enables uniform market recognition, reducing fragmented national compliance costs by ≈30 %.
- Public-procurement pull: Green Deal-driven procurement (≈€2 trn/year) offers scale for climate-smart inputs, advisory services and digital decision-support tools demonstrated under the project.
2. Cross-Border Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
- Consortium architecture: Minimum 3 African + multi-EU entities fosters north-south-east-west knowledge flow, creating unrivalled comparative datasets on pedo-climatic zones—from Mediterranean drylands to Baltic temperate soils.
- Transnational Living-Lab Network: Inter-linking African sites with ongoing EU Agroecology Partnership pilot labs (e.g., ALL-Ready) allows “mirror labs” for rapid iterative testing and benchmarking.
- Mobility schemes (MSCA, Erasmus+): Staff exchanges and joint PhD programmes can be layered on top, lowering marginal mobility costs by up to 50 % via shared infrastructures.
3. Strong EU Policy Alignment
- European Green Deal & Farm-to-Fork: Directly tackles pesticide- and fertiliser-reduction targets (-50 % by 2030) and CAP eco-scheme ambitions; eligibility for CAP Horizon “spill-over” bonuses in several Member States.
- Kunming-Montréal Biodiversity Framework: Supports EU leadership in global 30×30 biodiversity pledge, strengthening negotiation leverage.
- AU-EU Innovation Agenda: Project outputs feed into Green Priority Actions 4 & 5, positioning consortia for future Africa-Europe Innovation Facility funding.
4. Regulatory Harmonisation Benefits
- Unified data standards: Use of EU Open Research Data & INSPIRE directives eases cross-border environmental monitoring compliance and speeds up product registrations (e.g., biostimulants under Reg. 2019/1009).
- Single IP regime (Unitary Patent 2024-): One filing protects innovations across up to 25 EU states, cutting legal fees by ≈70 % compared with national filings.
- Lump-sum grant model: Simplified reporting harmonised across all beneficiaries, dramatically lowering audit risk and administrative overhead.
5. Access to Europe’s Innovation Ecosystem
- Research infrastructures: Free/discounted access to EU nodes such as EMPHASIS (phenotyping), eLTER (long-term ecosystem research) and Copernicus data cubes accelerates TRL maturation.
- EIT Food, EIT Climate-KIC & Regional Innovation Valleys: Provide acceleration, mentoring and risk-capital matchmaking for spin-offs emerging from living labs.
- Digital Europe synergies: Integration with Agriculture of Data partnership offers HPC/AI capacity for modelling agroecological scenarios.
6. Funding Synergies & Leverage
- Structural & Investment Funds (2021-27): Smart-specialisation regions prioritising sustainable agriculture (ESIF ≈€96 bn) can co-finance lighthouse replication.
- LIFE & CAP Strategic Plans: Up to 60 % co-funding for demo farms that implement biodiversity and climate-mitigation measures proven in the project.
- Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’: Joint calls and shared indicators enable stacking of Horizon & Mission budgets, boosting per-site funding envelope by up to €1 m.
7. Scale & Impact Potential
- Pan-EU deployment blueprint: Standardised agroecology protocols enable rapid scaling to >200 000 EU farms by 2030, with projected GHG reduction of 5–7 Mt CO₂-eq/year.
- Economic spill-overs: Creation of EU-wide social-economy enterprises (co-ops, advisory SMEs) estimated to generate 10 000+ green jobs, particularly in rural cohesion regions.
- Global standard-setting: By coupling EU regulatory robustness with African field validation, the consortium can influence ISO/CEN standards on agroecological metrics, entrenching EU leadership in sustainable agriculture norms.
8. Strategic Value of Operating at EU Scale
- Risk diversification: Multiple biogeographical zones reduce climatic and market volatility risk, increasing investor confidence for post-grant uptake.
- Policy advocacy power: Results backed by multi-Member-State evidence carry greater weight in shaping future CAP reforms and pesticide regulation revisions.
- Reputational capital: Positioning as an AU-EU flagship enhances eligibility for follow-up Horizon Europe clusters (e.g., Cluster 5 Climate) and international funds (GCF, IFAD).
Actionable Tip: Embed a dedicated “EU Integration Work Package” to (i) map regulatory fast-tracks in at least 10 Member States, (ii) formalise MOUs with EIT Food hubs, and (iii) prepare a joint Unitary Patent filing strategy by month 18. These steps amplify EU-wide advantage realisation and score highly under the Horizon evaluation ‘Impact’ criterion.
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