Linking soil health to nutritional and safe food
Call text (as on F&T portal)
View on F&T portalExpected Outcome:
Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Improved understanding of the soil health and food nexus to promote the development of a coherent portfolio of food systems R&I activities in line with the FOOD 2030 initiative.
- Further understanding of the interlinkages between farming practices, soil health and four food quality-related characteristics of agri-food products: nutritional composition, tastiness (palatability), their technological properties (i.e. soil health impact on plant characteristics such as protein quality that may affect technological properties and subsequently the final food products) and safety (the level of residues of pesticides, metals or mycotoxins).
- Support R&I to facilitate the transition towards healthy and sustainable dietary behaviour. It will contribute to the transformation of food systems to deliver co-benefits for climate (mitigation and adaptation), biodiversity, environmental sustainability and circularity, dietary shift, sustainable healthy nutrition and safe food.
- Improved knowledge on how soil health influences food quality (including nutritional composition, tastiness, technological properties and safety) and which methods and tools exist to determine this.
- Best practices linking soil health to food quality and how they can be deployed along the food system.
- Engaged stakeholders throughout the food system, increased public awareness and business interest on the connection of soil health and food quality, via interactive learning/experimentation through living labs throughout Europe.
- Improved links and knowledge transfer with the EJP Soil[1] and other soil-relevant Horizon Europe instruments and initiatives (IBF Microbiome Working Group)[2] at EU and international level.
Scope:
Soils are essential for the global food system and regulate water, carbon and nitrogen cycles but are put under pressure from population growth and climate change. Maintaining healthy soils helps ensure nutritious, tasty and safe foods, which are essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and in particular SDG 2, Zero Hunger.
Soils are an important element in a holistic view of human health. A great proportion of our food comes from terrestrial environments, in which soils play a central role. Soils have an indirect impact on human health as essential soil compounds are taken up by the food produced on it. Unhealthy soils decrease crop harvests and produce crops with reduced nutritional value. Soil contaminants can pose a threat to food safety, malnutrition and human health. Little is known on interactions between nutrient and microbiome composition of soils and the plant (including its secondary metabolite content) and health effects on human diets (including the gut microbiome).
The quality of the soil plays a central role in determining food quality as it provides the substrate and building blocks for the growth of plants and their edible food produce, which are then harvested for consumption. Soil health and soil quality represent a fundamental requirement for food safety, and therefore for animal and human health, even though this relationship is not always acknowledged enough. Growing evidence links farm management, soil health and plant health; but the relationships between soil health, climate stress, food and crop nutritional quality, tastiness (palatability), technological properties and human health are less well understood.
While information already exists on the interaction between farming practices, soil health and food, a structured synthesis is needed to obtain a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the relevant achievements on this field, in order to support the implementation of the soil mission. A clearer understanding of the possible links between soil health, plants, food and people is the key to improving the quality and healthiness of foods grown in all types of farming systems, including smaller scale urban farming. There is a need to build on the existing knowledge resulting from the latest EU R&I activities and infrastructures that elicit the link between soil, food, diets and human health.
Proposed activities will:
- Further develop and strengthen legitimacy and robustness of the nexus food quality-soil through an engaged, broad and effective European interdisciplinary community of scientists (including medical researchers), innovators and practitioners, while recognising regional and national specificities, contexts and needs.
- Elucidate the current state of knowledge deriving from former and still ongoing Horizon 2020 projects and other relevant state of the art research (e.g., EJP Soil) falling under the the nexus of soils, farming practices, food and human health and identify research and innovation areas where gaps need to be filled.
- Catalyse interdisciplinary collaboration as a holistic perspective, which is necessary to address the issues related to the topic.
- Seek and integrate qualitative and quantitative scientific evidence through in situ and lab experimentation and testing, literature review, surveys, analytical modelling (etc.) to support farming practices that positively influence the link between soil health and food quality.
- Develop easy to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) that elicit the connection between soil health, and four food quality-related characteristics (nutritional composition, tastiness, technological properties and safety).
- Adapt, integrate and demonstrate innovative methods to continuously measure the developed KPIs.
- Investigate how well current funding opportunities at all levels (EU, national, regional) address soils and human health research and innovation needs.
- Build upon existing knowledge and solutions designed and developed from previous projects such as the EIT Food initiative[3] that addresses the challenge of soil health in a holistic way, from farm to fork, involving multiple stakeholders, highlighting their stakes in soil health and identifying potential drivers to motivate them to take action in collaboration with farmers [1] Regenerative Agriculture | EIT Food
- Summarise the known factors influencing water, soil and plant health and how these are linked with food quality and human health.
- List the potential mechanisms for improved food nutritional quality through soil health and evaluate the current evidence.
- Provide conclusions and recommendation for future research and innovation.
Proposals are encouraged to build on past or ongoing EU-funded research and innovation projects. Proposal should also seek collaboration with relevant initiatives, and in particular deliver on key objectives of the Horizon Europe Soil Health and Food Mission.
Proposals should explain how they will deliver co-benefits to the four Food 2030 priorities as well as the EU Soil Strategy for 2030.
Proposals should set out a clear plan on how they should collaborate with other projects selected under this and any other relevant topic/call, by participating in joint activities, workshops, as well as common communication and dissemination activities and channels.
Proposals should bring together multiple types of scientific expertise in health and natural sciences, and social sciences and humanities. This topic should involve the effective contribution of SSH disciplines.
[1] https://ejpsoil.eu/
[2] https://www.bioeconomy-forum.org/index.php?index=15
[3]
News flashes
Flash information on the CALL results
(flash call info)
Call for proposals: Research and Innovation and other actions to support the implementation of a mission in the area of Soil health and Food (HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02)
Published: 22/12/2021
Deadline: 24/03/2022
Total budget: EUR 62.00 million
Budget per topic with separate ‘call-budget-split’:
Topic code
Topic short name
Type of action
Budget (EUR million)
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01
From knowledge gaps to roadmaps on soil mission objectives
CSA
5.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02
Validating and further developing indicators for soil health and functions
RIA
12.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03
Linking soil health to nutritional and safe food
RIA
7.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04
Social, economic and cultural factors driving land management and land degradation
RIA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05
Incentives and business models for soil health
RIA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06
Engage with and activate municipalities and regions to protect and restore soil health
CSA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07
National engagement sessions and support to the establishment of soil health living labs
CSA
3.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08
Next generation soil advisors
RIA
5.00
The Commission and the Research Executive Agency have now completed the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the above-mentioned call.
The results of the evaluation are as follows:
Topic code
Number of submitted proposals
Number of inadmissible proposals
Number of ineligible proposals
Number of above-threshold proposals
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01
4
0
2
2
9,998,016 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02
6
0
0
4
45,324,864 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03
6
0
0
3
20,964,652 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04
1
0
0
0
0 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05
4
0
0
4
19,801,049€
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06
15
0
14
1
3,276,683 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07
1
0
0
1
2,999,087 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08
3
0
0
1
4,999,932 €
TOTAL
40
0
16
16
107,364,283 €
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service[1].
[1] Available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries
Flash information on the CALL results
(flash call info)
Call for proposals: Research and Innovation and other actions to support the implementation of a mission in the area of Soil health and Food (HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02)
Published: 22/12/2021
Deadline: 24/03/2022
Total budget: EUR 62.00 million
Budget per topic with separate ‘call-budget-split’:
Topic code
Topic short name
Type of action
Budget (EUR million)
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01
From knowledge gaps to roadmaps on soil mission objectives
CSA
5.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02
Validating and further developing indicators for soil health and functions
RIA
12.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03
Linking soil health to nutritional and safe food
RIA
7.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04
Social, economic and cultural factors driving land management and land degradation
RIA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05
Incentives and business models for soil health
RIA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06
Engage with and activate municipalities and regions to protect and restore soil health
CSA
10.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07
National engagement sessions and support to the establishment of soil health living labs
CSA
3.00
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08
Next generation soil advisors
RIA
5.00
The Commission and the Research Executive Agency have now completed the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the above-mentioned call.
The results of the evaluation are as follows:
Topic code
Number of submitted proposals
Number of inadmissible proposals
Number of ineligible proposals
Number of above-threshold proposals
Total budget requested for above-threshold proposals
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01
4
0
2
2
9,998,016 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02
6
0
0
4
45,324,864 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03
6
0
0
3
20,964,652 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04
1
0
0
0
0 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05
4
0
0
4
19,801,049€
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06
15
0
14
1
3,276,683 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07
1
0
0
1
2,999,087 €
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08
3
0
0
1
4,999,932 €
TOTAL
40
0
16
16
107,364,283 €
We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.
For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service[1].
[1] Available at http://ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02 call was closed on 24th March 2022. 40 proposals have been submitted in response to this call. The breakdown per topic is indicated below.
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01: 4
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02: 6
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03: 6
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04: 1
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05: 4
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06: 15
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07: 1
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08: 3
The evaluation results are expected to be communicated to applicants in June 2022.
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02 call was closed on 24th March 2022. 40 proposals have been submitted in response to this call. The breakdown per topic is indicated below.
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-01: 4
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-02: 6
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-03: 6
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-04: 1
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-05: 4
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-06: 15
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-07: 1
· HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02-08: 3
The evaluation results are expected to be communicated to applicants in June 2022.
Opening date: 2021-12-22 (4 years ago)
Closing date: 2022-03-24 (4 years ago)
Procedure: single-stage
Budget: 7,000,000
Expected grants: 1
Contribution: 7,000,000 - 7,000,000
This call topic has been appended 6 times by the EC with news.
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2022-08-04
flash information on the call results(fl... -
2022-08-04
flash information on the call results(fl... -
2022-04-01
horizon-miss-2021-soil-02 call was close... -
2022-04-01
horizon-miss-2021-soil-02 call was close... -
2021-12-22
the submission session is now available... -
2021-12-22
the submission session is now available...
HORIZON-MISS-2021-SOIL-02
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Timeline
Call published · 30 Sep 2024 (2 years ago)
All expected milestones for this call have passed.
Work programme published
16 Oct 2021 · est.
Call opens
22 Dec 2021
Call closes
24 Mar 2022
Outcome expected
24 Aug 2022 · est.
Grant agreement signed
24 Nov 2022 · est.
Call published
30 Sep 2024
-
Work programme published Estimated
16 Oct 2021 · 4 years ago
Topics are listed in the Work Programme before the call opens. Spotting this early gives you a head start on partner search and proposal planning.
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Call opens
22 Dec 2021 · 4 years ago
Submissions can be made from this date.
-
Call closes
24 Mar 2022 · 4 years ago
Deadline to submit a proposal.
-
Outcome expected Estimated
24 Aug 2022 · 4 years ago
The maximum time to inform applicants of the evaluation outcome is five months after the call closes.
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Grant agreement signed Estimated
24 Nov 2022 · 3 years ago
The maximum time to sign the grant agreement is three months after applicants are informed of the outcome.
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Call published
30 Sep 2024 · 2 years ago
This topic was first published in TopicTree.
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