Scope:

Proposals will provide a comprehensive analysis of C, N and P flows and cycling on farms and within landscapes, taking into account different types of production systems and the impacts of land-use intensification. Work shall consider trade-offs and synergies between impacts (on climate, water quality, air, soil) of C, N and P cycles and with farm productivity and the quality of agricultural products. Proposals will seek to generate efficiencies and close loops, including at the interfaces between plants (e.g. N-fixing trees and crops, forest/arable land), between plants and animal production (e.g. fertiliser/manure or protein/feed, grasslands/ruminants, etc.) and within the animal sector (e.g. feeding and stock replacement strategies, cross and mixed breeds, etc.). They will study and test innovative approaches to closing C, N and P loops. Prototypes of sustainable agro-ecology systems, including organic systems, will be developed at various scales from farm level to landscape/territorial level in order to reduce GHG emissions and nutrient intensity. Proposals will also tackle consumption patterns and establish how demand-side management (e.g. diets, waste reduction and waste management, consumer behaviour) can be paired with efforts to lower emissions and optimise C, N and P loops. This will include looking at international trade in relation to the EU supply of energy and proteins, land use changes and carbon sequestration in soils. International cooperation shall be envisaged as appropriate. Proposals should fall under the concept of the 'multi-actor approach'^[2].

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 6 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:

• effective solutions for C-, N- and P-efficient agro ecosystems;
• improved overall sustainability and innovation capacity of the farming systems;
• reduction of environmental impact: reduced GHG emissions, protected and enhanced soil carbon stocks, improved ground- and surface-water quality;
• integrated scientific support for relevant EU policies (e.g. Common Agricultural Policy, Water Framework Directive, sustainable use of pesticides, climate change objectives); and
• strengthened transdisciplinary research for long-lasting implementation of results.

[1]Phosphate rock is on the list of critical raw materials defined in 2014 (COM(2014)297). Within Societal Challenge 5, dedicated topics SC5-13 to 17 deal with raw materials

[2]See definition of the 'multi-actor approach' in the introduction to 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.