The EU has laid out the ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, also referred to as the ‘European Green Deal’. A healthier and more sustainable EU food system is the cornerstone of this deal. Soon the EU will call for projects that will test, pilot and demonstrate innovative systemic solutions in the agrifood industry. Reach out to Catalyze if you want to apply for the ‘Farm to Fork Strategy Call’ call and utilize part of the €72M budget that is made available.
Farm to Fork strategy: global standard for sustainability
In the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission has outlined its ambition to transform European food systems into the global standard for sustainability. The formal strategy statement is as follows: ‘addressing the challenges and accelerating the transition to sustainable food systems, to ensure that the economic, social and environmental foundations of food and nutrition security are not compromised for current and future generations.’ To successfully achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and implement a sustainable food system, the EU has made available a total budget of €72 M to be invested in research proposals that address the following six specific themes.
Six Themes
The European Commission will finance projects that will test, pilot and demonstrate innovative systemic solutions (TRL 5-7) in one of the following six food systems’ challenges:
- Achieving climate-neutral farms by reducing GHG emissions and by increasing farm-based carbon sequestration, and storage;
- Achieving climate-neutral food businesses by mitigating climate change, reducing energy use and increasing energy efficiency in processing, distribution, conservation, and preparation of food;
- Reducing the dependence on hazardous pesticides; reducing the use and increasing the efficiency of fertilizers; reducing the losses of nutrients from fertilizers, towards zero pollution of water, soil, and air;
- Reducing the dependence on the use of antimicrobials in animal production and aquaculture;
- Reducing food losses and waste at every stage of the food chain including consumption, while also avoiding unsustainable packaging;
- Shifting to sustainable healthy diets, sourced from land, inland water and sea, and accessible to all EU citizens, including the most deprived and vulnerable groups.
EU Farm to Fork Consortium: who and when?
Now, who can join? Project proposals can be submitted by consortia consisting of about 20-30 independent SMEs (including startups of course), large companies, and research institutes from minimal 3 different EU Member States or Horizon 2020 associated countries.
At StartLife we strongly believe cooperation and partnerships are key to realize disruptive innovation. So it is of no surprise that we urge all interested parties to join the upcoming call for research and innovation projects that are aligned with at least one specific theme of the Farm to Fork Strategy Call. The call is expected to open in September, and the expected deadline for submission is January 2021. No time to waste!
Support by Catalyze
You probably know that building a consortium and preparing a proposal can be a daunting task. Fortunately our partner Catalyze has a wide experience in building large consortiums and a strong record of raising non-dilutive funding through grant writing. Over the last years, Catalyze has acquired over € 650 million in funding for its clients. We suggest you reach out to Suzana Garcia (Suzana.garcia@catalyze-group.com) or Fosca Poltronieri (fosca.poltronieri@catalyze-group.com) for more information. Phone: +31 (6) 2433 6444.
p.s. You can also follow StartLife on Linkedin, Twitter or stay up to date with the latest news about and for agrifood startups, scaleups and more via the StartLife newsletter.
