Fostering common farmland birds and mammals for resilient food production systems

Forthcoming

This is the status published by the official source.

Sign in to bookmark this

Expected Outcome:

Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• land managers, farmers, conservation organizations, researchers, policymakers, and agribusinesses are equipped with the knowledge and tools to implement practices that enhance habitats for farmland birds and mammals, thereby improving pest control, supporting pollination, and strengthening agricultural resilience;
• challenges, measures, and needs of land managers, farmers and conservation organizations are known and supported via appropriate incentives to facilitate the wide adoption of bird- and mammal-friendly practices. Scope:
Maintaining and improving farmland bird populations is crucial for both conservation and the long-term sustainability of food production systems. Farmland birds and mammals provide valuable ecosystem services, such as pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal, which are essential for resilient agriculture. Focusing on birds ensures the preservation of these services, while also contributing to broader biodiversity goals. Additionally, including farmland mammals in the research helps assess potential synergies and trade-offs in pest control, providing a more holistic ecological understanding. As farmland birds and mammals can cause damage by consuming crops, it is important that research seeks the correct equilibrium between the utility of these animals and the damage they can cause. This broader perspective allows for more informed decisions on how to design farming systems that are not only beneficial to bird populations but also support the protection and restoration of healthy ecosystems. Overall, the objective is to foster sustainable agriculture that enhances both productivity and biodiversity, and offers opportunities for nature restoration.
Proposals should:

• synthetize the impact of various farming practices on both farmland bird populations and agricultural productivity, while also considering farmland mammals for a more comprehensive picture. Also, assessing the role and impact of specific bird species in pest control and soil health to better understand their contributions in agricultural landscapes and to the sustainability of farming systems;
• develop participatory research programs that encourage landscape-level collaboration among farmers, land managers, and conservationists. These programs should focus on identifying and testing locally tailored bird-friendly solutions while addressing farmers' perceptions, needs, and challenges in adopting these practices;
• improve existing incentives (also under CAP), or potentially create new targeted ones to promote the adoption of bird- and mammal-friendly solutions. These incentives should be geographically relevant and designed to address farmers' specific challenges, while fostering collaboration among farmers, land managers, and conservationists to ensure effective implementation and long-term sustainability;
• design a comprehensive farmer education program focused on bird-friendly practices and their economic benefits. This should include advisory services with ecologists, field days, and demonstration farms showcasing successful bird-focused measures in profitable farming systems. Also assess effectiveness of peer-to-peer learning networks and highlight the economic co-benefits of these practices (e.g., pest reduction and pollination);
• conduct research to assess the effectiveness of scaling proven biodiversity-friendly farming practices, such as creating and preserving semi-natural habitats of farmland or other farming practices and in consideration of at least maintaining productivity. Focus on successful models, that can be applied to different regions, and evaluate their impact on bird and selected mammal populations. The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, the biodiversity strategy for 2030, the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production[1], the EU Nature Restoration Regulation and Target 10 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Proposals must implement the multi-actor approach, involving a range of stakeholders, particularly farmers and land managers, to ensure that the knowledge and needs from various sectors are integrated and the results are impactful.
Proposals should, where relevant, build on previous EU and nationally funded projects, including Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, and LIFE, and the Agroecology Partnership; and foresee appropriate resources to ensure close cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and its Science Service.
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29

Status

Forthcoming

Deadline

22 September 2027 (time not stated)

Opens

20 April 2027

Published

12 December 2025

Total budget

€12,000,000

Grant range

€6,000,000 – €6,000,000

Country

European Union (EU-wide)

Programme

Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

Funder

European Commission

Official page

Open at the source portal

What applying involves

12 steps, all of them taken from this call's own documents.

Understand the call

• Read the call on the source portal and download its documents
• Write the proposal against the award criteria and thresholds standard for this programme

  are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §5a

• Check the grant's legal and financial set-up standard for this programme

  Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025) . described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific conditions described in the [specific topic of the Work … — conditions §6

• Note the opening date — a proposal cannot be submitted before it
• Check the amount you plan to request against the call's range

Check you are eligible

• Check every partner is established in an eligible country standard for this programme

  described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. 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 Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide — conditions §2

• Meet the call's other eligibility conditions

  The following additional eligibility criteria apply: The proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in this work programme part. described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §3

• Be able to show financial and operational capacity standard for this programme

  described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes — conditions §4

Prepare the documents

• Prepare Part B of the Application Form standard for this programme

  Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. — conditions

• Complete the detailed budget table standard for this programme

Submit

• Check the submission and evaluation process standard for this programme

  are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual — conditions §5b

• Submit before the closing date shown above

  The source states the closing day but no closing time — check the portal before the last day. — calls.deadline

Sign in to track these

Other calls under Horizon Europe (HORIZON)

• PV based electrification of the economy: Designing & optimising PV systems supporting industrial electrification and promoting participation in electricity markets (EUPI-PV Partnership)Forthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €18,000,000
• Advanced TSO control rooms to enhance grid observability, stability and resilienceForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADSM) for more efficient and flexible distribution gridsForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Community of practice - Data-Driven Decision-Making in EnergyForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €6,000,000
• Industrial processes and equipment for innovative, reliable and scalable tandem technologies (EUPI-PV Partnership)Forthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €28,500,000
• Integrated Approaches for Retrofitting Infrastructures with Innovative Energy Storage TechnologiesForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €22,500,000
• Demonstration of hydropower technologies for efficient and forward-looking refurbishment of existing hydropower plantsForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €17,000,000
• Delivery of industrial CCUS clusters – Societal Readiness pilotForthcoming · deadline 1 December 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €30,000,000

All calls under this programme

Similar opportunities

• Understanding and tackling the decline of insectsClosed · deadline 23 September 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €13,000,000 · same funder, same programme
• Boosting agrobiodiversity for food security and sustainable competitivenessClosed · deadline 23 September 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €12,000,000 · same funder, same programme
• Improve the capacity to monitor and reduce air pollution from agricultureForthcoming · deadline 22 September 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €12,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Strengthening the resilience of European farmers through improved capacity in coping with risks and crisesForthcoming · deadline 11 May 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €12,000,000 · same sector, same funder
• Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutionsForthcoming · deadline 23 September 2027 · European Union (EU-wide) · €15,500,000 · same sector, same funder
• By fishers, for fishers: co-management of marine and freshwaters ecosystems and resourcesClosed · deadline 23 September 2026 · European Union (EU-wide) · €31,000,000 · same funder, same programme