Member States and EU policies seek to reduce reliance on pesticides for crop protection through the design and implementation of more integrated approaches and restrictions on the use of several active substances currently used in pesticides. The escalation of evolved resistance is putting further strains on the availability and use of plant protection products. Significant effort is required to develop alternatives to current disease and pest control products. Similarly, a better understand of genetic, evolutionary and agronomic drivers of the evolution of pesticide resistance is required to develop more durable and environmentally sustainable plant protection strategies.

Scope:

Activities will foster the development and testing of new products, tools and strategies for integrated pest and disease management to reduce the use of pesticides in the fruit and vegetable sectors (including herbs and medical plants). Work will improve current cultural practices so as to increase the resilience of fruit and vegetable crops against biotic stresses. It will tackle the development and testing of novel, more sustainable products and tools for their application, taking due account of the potential of nature-based compounds. Activities will enhance knowledge of the mechanisms whereby plants develop resistance and help understand how evolution and spread of resistance lead to control failures across farming systems. Projects should fall under the concept of the ‘multi-actor approach’^[1] bringing together contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including research, farming, advisory services, industry as well as consumers and civil society. They should also seek contributions from social and economic sciences to cover the broader economic, social, behavioural and environmental issues associated with the adoption of novel pest management strategies. Gender issues will be addressed as appropriate^[2]

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of around EUR 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude the submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

Proposed activities will broaden the armoury of tools available for integrated pest management in the fruit and vegetable sectors. They will help to:

• reduce reliance on plant production products;
• introduce novel products with increased specificity and improved environmental performance (e.g. reduced effects on non-target organisms and natural resources);
• decrease residue concentrations in fruit and vegetables;
• increase food safety and contribute to human health (consumers and applicators);
• support innovations in the field of plant protection.

In the longer-term results will contribute to reducing pesticide residues in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, drinking water and the food chain. They will also strengthen the European fruit and vegetable sectors by supporting productivity and product quality. This is expected to increase consumer trust and fruit and vegetable consumption. Results will support product innovation and the competitiveness of European industries including SMEs.

[1]See definition of the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to this Work Programme part.

[2]See definition of the 'gender dimension of research' in the introduction of this Work Programme part.

Topic conditions and documents

Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.
 

List of countries and applicable rules for funding: described in part A of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme.
Note also that a number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon 2020 projects (follow the links to China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan).

Eligibility and admissibility conditions: described in part B and C of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme
Proposal page limits and layout: Please refer to Part B of the standard proposal template.

Evaluation

3.1  Evaluation criteria and procedure, scoring and threshold: described in part H of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme [, with the following exceptions]:

3.2 Submission and evaluation process: Guide to the submission and evaluation process

 Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement:

Information on the outcome of single-stage evaluation: maximum 5 months from the deadline for submission.
Signature of grant agreements: maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission.

Information on the outcome of two-stage evaluation:
      For stage 1: maximum 3 months from the deadline for submission.
      For stage 2: maximum 5 months from the deadline for submission.
Signature of grant agreements: maximum 8 months from the deadline for submission.

  

Provisions, proposal templates and evaluation forms for the type(s) of action(s) under this topic:

Research and Innovation Action:

Specific provisions and funding rates
Standard proposal template
Standard evaluation form
H2020 General MGA -Multi-Beneficiary
Annotated Grant Agreement

Additional provisions:

• Horizon 2020 budget flexibility
• Technology readiness levels (TRL) – where a topic description refers to TRL, these definitions apply.
• Financial support to Third Parties – where a topic description foresees financial support to Third Parties, these provisions apply.

Open access must be granted to all scientific publications resulting from Horizon 2020 actions, and proposals must refer to measures envisaged. Where relevant, proposals should also provide information on how the participants will manage the research data generated and/or collected during the project, such as details on what types of data the project will generate, whether and how this data will be exploited or made accessible for verification and re-use, and how it will be curated and preserved.

Additional documents

• H2020 Work Programme 2016-17: Introduction 
• H2020 Work Programme 2016-17: Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy
• H2020 Work Programme 2016-17: Dissemination, Exploitation and Evaluation
• H2020 Work Programme 2016-17: General Annexes
• Legal basis: Horizon 2020 - Regulation of Establishment
• Legal basis: Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation
• Legal basis: Horizon 2020 Specific Programme

The deadline for the second stage is 13 September 2017.