Topic updates

16 September 2025

Flash information on proposal numbers

The first stage of call HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-two-stage call has closed on 04/09/2025.

229 proposals have been submitted.

The breakdown per topic is:

HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-02-two-stage: 24 proposals

Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in December 2025.

11 June 2025
Please note that due to a technical issue, during the first days of publication of this call, the topic page did not display the description of the corresponding destination. This problem is now solved. In addition to the information published in the topic page, you can always find a full description of the 7 destinations (Biodiversity and ecosystem services; Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption; Circular economy and bioeconomy sectors; Clean environment and zero pollution; Land, ocean and water for climate action; Resilient, inclusive, healthy and green rural, coastal and urban communities; Innovative governance, environmental observations and digital solutions in support of the Green Deal) that are relevant for the call in the Work Programme 2025 part for “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment”. Please select from the work programme the destination relevant to your topic and take into account the description and expected impacts of that destination for the preparation of your proposal.

Open topic: Innovating for on-farm post-harvest operations, storage and transformation of crops into food and non-food products

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-02-two-stage

Type of grant: Call for proposals

General information

Programme:

Call: Cluster 6 Call 02 - two stage (HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-two-stage)

Type of action: HORIZON-IA HORIZON Innovation Actions

Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]

Status: Open for submission

Deadline model: two-stage

Opening Date: 06 May 2025

Deadline dates:
04 September 2025 17:00 (Brussels time)
18 February 2026 17:00 (Brussels time)

Topic description

Expected Outcome:

Successful proposals will support the European Green Deal goals for competitive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems objectives, the common agricultural policy, the EU Climate Law, the EU bioeconomy strategy, and the successful implementation of the unfair trading practices directive as well as the EU’s action plan for the development of organic production.

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

• Farmers employ a wide range of innovative solutions to improve post-harvest handling, processing and storage of crops that contribute to environment and climate objectives;
• Farmers improve their position in the value chains and add value to their food and non-food products at farm level and thereby enhance their competitiveness;
• Farmers and SMEs benefit from new business models and increase their opportunities to engage in sustainable food and non-food value chains.

Scope:

Under this topic, proposals should test, develop and pilot innovative solutions to support farmers to improve their position in the value chains, profit from leveraging the use of their agricultural produce and improve financial viabilities. Proposals should improve the climate and environmental performance of the resulting farmer’s activities and businesses. Proposals should also foster new SME-led sustainable business models and increase the opportunities for farmers to benefit from on-farm transformation and/or storage of agricultural outputs for food and/or non-food purposes. If they relate to some of the topics covered by Horizon 2020 Calls ‘Healthy and safe foods and diets for all’ 2016-2017 or/and ‘Empowerment of rural areas, support to policies and rural innovation’ 2018-2020 or/and Horizon Europe calls “Fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption” 2021-2022 and 2023-2024, the proposals should convincingly explain how they will build on and not duplicate them.

Innovations proposed should have a positive impact on environment as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation. Proposals should demonstrate practical applicability and be tailored to the needs of farmers and adapted to the seasonal character of raw material production.

Successful proposals should assess the impact of the proposed innovations on the overall sustainability (environmental, social, economic) of the farmers and business activities. The climate change mitigation and carbon footprint reduction potential of the proposed innovations should be analysed. Successful proposals should address the requirements from relevant EU regulatory frameworks, including where relevant needs for pre-market authorisation.

Proposals should perform economic cost-benefit analysis of the practical implementation of the innovations developed within the project. Proposals should describe an exploitation pathway tailor-made for the developed innovations through the different necessary steps (e.g. market research, manufacturing, regulatory approvals and licensing, IP management etc.) in order to accelerate exploitation of the results.

Proposed activities must apply the concept of the 'multi-actor approach' and allow for adequate involvement of relevant actors including farmers and SMEs. Proposals should benefit various farming systems/approaches, one of which should be organic farming. Proposals should develop publicly available diverse practice-oriented dissemination materials, e.g., audiovisual materials, brochures, presenting the innovations.

SME participation is expected. Proposals may involve financial support to third parties, particularly for farmers and/or SMEs providing and/or developing, testing, or validating the proposed innovative technologies/solutions. A maximum 30% of EU funding should be allocated to this purpose. Consortia need to define the selection process of third parties, for which financial support may be granted.

Start submission

To access the Electronic Submission Service, please click on the submission-button next to the type of action and the type of model grant agreement that corresponds to your proposal. You will then be asked to confirm your choice, as it cannot be changed in the submission system. Upon confirmation, you will be linked to the correct entry point.

To access existing draft proposals for this topic, please login to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page of the My Area section.

Get support

Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application.

Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.

Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.

Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.

Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.

National Contact Points (NCPs) – get guidance, practical information and assistance on participation in Horizon Europe. There are also NCPs in many non-EU and non-associated countries (‘third-countries’).

Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.

IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.

European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.

CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.

The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.

Partner Search help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.