Open topic: Innovating for on-farm post-harvest operations, storage and transformation of crops into food and non-food products
Horizon Europe Destination: Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption
Amount not specified
04/09/2025
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution
Trusted by
What is the Open topic: Innovating for on-farm post-harvest operations, storage and transformation of crops into food and non-food products Call?
Expected Outcomes
• Support the European Green Deal goals for competitive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems
• Advance the Common Agricultural Policy, EU Climate Law, EU bioeconomy strategy, Unfair Trading Practices Directive and the EU Organic Production action plan
• Enable farmers to employ a wide range of innovative solutions for post-harvest handling, processing and storage that contribute to environmental and climate objectives
• Improve farmers’ position in value chains and their ability to add value to food and non-food products at farm level, enhancing competitiveness
• Deliver new business models from which farmers and SMEs benefit, increasing opportunities to engage in sustainable food and non-food value chains
Scope Requirements
• Test, develop and pilot innovative solutions to strengthen farmers’ position in value chains and improve financial viability
• Improve the climate and environmental performance of farming activities and businesses
• Foster new SME-led sustainable business models
• Facilitate on-farm transformation and/or storage of agricultural outputs for food and non-food purposes
• Demonstrate practical applicability, tailored to farmer needs and seasonal production cycles
• Ensure positive impacts on environment, climate change mitigation and adaptation
• Assess overall sustainability impacts (environmental, social, economic) of proposed innovations
• Analyze climate mitigation potential and carbon footprint reduction
• Address requirements of relevant EU regulatory frameworks, including pre-market authorisation where needed
• Perform an economic cost-benefit analysis of practical implementation
• Describe a detailed exploitation pathway covering market research, manufacturing, regulatory approvals, licensing and IP management
• Apply the Work Programme’s multi-actor approach with adequate involvement of farmers and SMEs
• Benefit a variety of farming systems/approaches, including organic farming
• Develop publicly available, practice-oriented dissemination materials (e.g., audiovisuals, brochures)
• Ensure meaningful SME participation
• Optionally provide financial support to third parties (max 30 % of EU funding)
Special Conditions
• Two-stage submission model: Stage 1 deadline 4 September 2025, Stage 2 deadline 18 February 2026 (Brussels time)
• Proposals must comply with admissibility, eligibility, financial/operational capacity and exclusion criteria set out in the Work Programme General Annexes
• Multi-actor approach is mandatory, as defined in the Work Programme
• Financial support to third parties only via grants, maximum €60 000 per third party and up to 30 % of total EU funding; consortia must establish a transparent selection process for beneficiaries
• SME participation is expected
• If building on prior Horizon 2020 or Horizon Europe calls, proposals must explain how they extend rather than duplicate previous work
• Applicants must select the relevant Work Programme destination and take into account its description and expected impacts
Open from: 06/05/2025
Deadline:04/09/2025
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