Boosting agrobiodiversity for food security and sustainable competitiveness

Expected Outcome:

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

• land managers, farmers, foresters, agri-businesses (including SMEs), and policy makers gain access to practical knowledge of clear demonstrations of benefits and trade-offs associated with biologically diversifying their agroecosystem;
• farmers, land managers and foresters are incentivised and rewarded for implementing practices that improve agrobiodiversity, leading to higher incomes and long-term sustainability and resilience of agriculture, greater food security, competitiveness, and healthier ecosystems;
• enhanced capabilities for farmers to store, process, and market their diverse raw materials and products, derived from greater agrobiodiversity, while improving their market access and strengthening their position within the value chain.

Scope:

Genetic erosion poses a significant threat to agricultural resilience, as genetic diversity is crucial for crops to withstand environmental stresses such as climate variations, pests, and diseases. As the global population grows, the demand for increased food production often drives large-scale agriculture, which compromises biodiversity and long-term productivity. While promoting and expanding agrobiodiversity enhances agricultural resilience, socio-economic obstacles hinder broader adoption. Beyond highlighting the importance of conserving agricultural biodiversity for food security, it is essential to demonstrate its role in enhancing food production, increasing farmers' incomes, and safeguarding livelihoods against environmental challenges. A significant obstacle to a wider adoption of more diversified production systems, is perceived risk in that process, in terms of yield, (marginal) income, lack of demand, stable and sufficient pricing, and potential increase of pests.

Proposals should:

• quantify the contribution of agrobiodiversity (including soil microorganisms), mainly at parcel/farm level, considering both species abundance and composition, and its economic impact, in particular in regard to food security, such as yield stability, nutritional quality, nutrient cycling and resilience to pests and diseases;
• develop solutions and strategies to scale successful agrobiodiversity practices tailored to local, regional and national levels to strengthen farmers’ financial position in adopting more diversified production systems;
• test how instruments for mobilising private finance, such as nature credits, could enhance the competitiveness of farmers, foresters and other land managers, including by opening up new opportunities of income;
• build on and develop a decision support tool analysing the risk of diversifying production systems, in terms of yield, marketability, pricing, pests and diseases, hazard assessment of adverse organisms, genes and chemicals, and more, to assist farmers, breeders and agribusinesses in farm diversification;
• provide recommendation for farmers, breeders, agricultural organizations, and agribusinesses for risk mitigation in adoption of wider varieties and marketability of non-conventional crops and local breeds produced in lower volumes;
• define and evaluate the costs of farm diversification, in terms of labour and management complexity, and explore how these may be offset via lower costs of external inputs. Identify behavioural determinants in different socio-economic and cultural contexts to adoption of biodiversity friendly practices;
• explore pathways for the valorisation of products, including tailored food processing and storage, relevant risk assessments for new methods/varieties, and strengthened collaboration with food industries.

The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, the biodiversity strategy for 2030, the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production^[1], the Nature Credits Roadmap^[2], and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) may participate as member of the consortium selected for funding to assess the inclusion of quantified data in the EU Food System Monitoring Dashboard, and farm sector resilience analysis. Proposals should foresee appropriate resources to ensure close cooperation with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) and its Science Service.

Proposals must adopt a multi-actor approach, engaging diverse stakeholders, particularly farmers and land managers, to integrate sector-specific knowledge and needs. This ensures impactful outcomes that address conservation and habitat requirements while aligning with agricultural contexts.

Proposals should build (when relevant) upon existing knowledge and solutions designed and previously developed from previous projects demonstrating positive outcomes of enhancing agrobiodiversity for sustainable agriculture, funded by EU and national programmes, in particular the European Union Framework programmes for Research and Innovation (such as Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe under their different pillars and clusters), and the LIFE programme. Proposals should plan cooperation with the Agroecology Partnership and the Mission Soil.

Due to the scope of this topic, international cooperation is strongly encouraged, including with China under the EU-China Food, Agriculture and Biosolutions (FAB) flagship initiative. Development of specific technologies above TRL 4 is out of the scope of this topic.

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0141R%2801%29

[2] EUR-Lex - 52025DC0374 - EN - EUR-Lex