By Janet Kanters

The European Union is making €12.8 million available for research and innovation projects aimed at developing biotechnology solutions to improve soil health, restore degraded land and strengthen agricultural resilience.

The funding is being offered through Horizon Europe, with two grants of up to €6.4 million each available under the call, “Innovative biotechnologies to restore soil health and improve agricultural competitiveness and resilience.”

The initiative is focused particularly on solutions that use the soil microbiome – the community of microorganisms living in soil – to improve crop production and address soil degradation.

Projects are expected to develop, test and validate solutions that can eventually be brought to market. Potential areas include bio-based fertilizers, microbial products and other biotechnology approaches that can improve soil health under different European growing conditions.

The EU says solutions should address several soil challenges, including contamination by heavy metals, pharmaceuticals and PFAS, as well as declining organic carbon, poor soil structure and reduced biodiversity.

Projects should also demonstrate improvements in water retention and nutrient availability, with the overall goal of improving crop quality and productivity while supporting more sustainable biomass production.

The call places a strong emphasis on developing solutions that are practical and commercially viable. Proposed technologies will need to be scalable, cost-effective and compatible with circular-economy principles, while reducing resource use and supporting sustainable soil management.

Applicants must also assess the economic, environmental and social impacts of their solutions. This includes examining costs and benefits, potential barriers to farmer adoption, market opportunities and how well the technologies perform under different environmental conditions.

Projects will be expected to develop pathways for bringing successful technologies to market, including regulatory compliance, risk assessment, stakeholder engagement and market acceptance.

Farmers and other end users are expected to have a direct role in the projects. The call requires a multi-actor approach involving participants across the value chain, including universities and research organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, start-ups, investors, product developers, manufacturers, distributors and farmers.

The funded projects will also be expected to work together through workshops, focus groups, social labs and other joint activities. Applicants must set aside resources for collaboration, communication and sharing results with other projects.

The funding supports broader EU efforts to improve soil health, biodiversity and environmental performance in agriculture, including the objectives of the EU Soil Strategy for 2030, the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

The EU also expects the projects to contribute to reducing agriculture’s dependence on synthetic chemicals while improving crop resilience and productivity.

Ultimately, the goal is to move biotechnology solutions beyond research and into practical use, providing farmers and other land managers with commercially viable tools for restoring soil and maintaining productive agricultural systems.

More information or to apply.