AGROECOLOGY, the European Partnership ‘Accelerating Farming Systems Transition: Agroecology Living Labs and Research Infrastructures’, is an ambitious, large-scale European research and innovation endeavour between the EC and 26 Member States (MS), Associated Countries (AC) and Third Countries. AGROECOLOGY will support an agriculture sector that is fit to meet the targets and challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, food security and sovereignty, and the environment, while ensuring a profitable and attractive activity for farmers. The Partnership in particular pools the resources of the EC and the states involved to fund high-level research generating appropriate knowledge and technologies aligned with the core themes described in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda.
Fostering agroecology at farm and landscape levels
This call aims for research and innovation projects driving the transition to agroecology, addressing global challenges and societal demands. Key focuses include resilience improvement, nutrient and energy flow closure, input/resource efficiency enhancement, and agrobiodiversity promotion. The call encompasses both conventional and organic farming, acknowledging the potential of agroecological principles to boost yields and resource efficiency in organic systems.
The objective is to fund projects operating at two scales: the farm level and the landscape or territorial level. The farm level involves practices within and around farms, while the landscape level considers broader territorial actions beyond individual farms, integrating various production systems and non-cultivated areas.
Proposals must adopt a multidisciplinary, integrated approach with a multi-actor perspective, involving scientists, farmers, consumers, and authorities. Co-design, co-assessment, and co-implementation of innovations are encouraged, with a focus on actionable knowledge and operational solutions. The proposals should address shared challenges across at least three participating countries in the AGROECOLOGY partnership.
Successful proposals shall contribute to the following outcomes:
- Agroecological innovations based on co-creation between scientists, relevant stakeholders and end users at the farm and/or landscape level
- Increased knowledge, knowledge transfer and capacity of farmers and agricultural advisers to implement agroecological practices
- Methods and tools to implement a co-creation process in a living lab approach supporting enhanced agroecology at the farm and/or landscape level
- Increased socio-economic and/or environmental potential of agroecological practices
Timeline and Submission Procedure
The Co-funded Call follows a comprehensive two-step procedure. In the initial phase, interested parties are required to submit a pre-proposal. Upon receiving an invitation, successful applicants can proceed to the second step, where a full proposal is submitted. Both pre and full proposals must be exclusively submitted through the designated submission system: https://agroecology.ptj.de.
It is imperative to adhere to the submission deadlines. Pre and full proposals not submitted within the specified timeframe through the submission system will not undergo evaluation and will be rejected. It is crucial to note that submitting a pre-proposal is mandatory. Applicants who have not submitted a pre-proposal and have not been selected cannot submit a full proposal at a later stage.
For detailed guidance on each step, please refer to the call document and available on the submission website: https://agroecology.ptj.de.
Webinar was hosted on 05 March 2024 from 10:00 to 13:00 CET. Recordings and slides can be found here: https://fz-juelich.sciebo.de/s/iTWWA2NDtC1kHgs. All questions asked during the webinar and the answers will be also published soon.
Partnering tool: https://agroecology.ptj.de/partnering
Funding countries
The following Funding countires provide funds to this call and make up the Funder Board.
AGROECOLOGY Call Announcement Call1_v1.1 16 Feb 2024_0.pdf (1.42 MB) Collaborative research calls