Horizon 2020 funds 22 new projects to ensure the sustainable management of land and waters

22 new projects are receiving approximately €175 million from Horizon 2020 to respond to the key challenges our planet is facing, such as adapting to and mitigating climate change, ensuring healthy food and clean water, safeguarding natural resources, promoting alternatives to fossil-based economies, and sustainably using marine resources while protecting the oceans.

The majority of these projects will kick-off in September.

Initially, 278 projects were submitted to the two-stage 2019 Societal Challenge 2 calls. 86 of those projects were invited to prepare a full research proposal. Of those, these 22 projects were selected.

The grant agreements are still in preparation for three topics, as their respective deadlines for full proposals were delayed. These grants will be signed with the beneficiaries and announced at a later stage.

These are the new SC2 EU-funded projects:

AGENT (862613): Activated GEnebank NeTwork

AGROMIX (862993): AGROforestry and MIXed farming systems - Participatory research to drive the transition to a resilient and efficient land use in Europe

ASTRAL (863034): All Atlantic Ocean Sustainable, Profitable and Resilient Aquaculture

AtlantECO (862923): Atlantic ECOsystems assessment, forecasting & sustainability

BATModel (861932): Better Agri-food Trade Modelling for policy ANalysis

DiTECT (861915): DIgital TEChnologies as an enabler for a conTinuous transformation of food safety system

EWA – BELT (862848): Linking East and West African farming systems experience into a BELT of sustainable intensification

FOODLAND (862802): FOOD and Local, Agricultural, and Nutritional Diversity

HealthyFoodAfrica (862740): Improving nutrition in Africa by strengthening the diversity, sustainability, resilience and connectivity of food systems

INCREASE (862862): Intelligent Collections of Food Legumes Genetic Resources for European Agrofood Systems

InnoFoodAfrica (862170): Locally-driven co-development of plant-based value chains towards more sustainable African food system with healthier diets and export potential

MISSION ATLANTIC (862428): Towards the Sustainable Development of the Atlantic Ocean: Mapping and Assessing the present and future status of Atlantic marine ecosystems under the influence of climate change and exploitation

MIXED (862357): Multi-actor and transdisciplinary development of efficient and resilient MIXED farming and agroforestry-systems

MOVING (862739): Mountain Valorization through  Interconnectedness and Green Growth

OPTAIN (862756): OPtimal strategies to retAIN and re-use water and nutrients in small agricultural catchments across different soil-climatic regions in Europe

SAFFI (861917): Safe Food for Infants in China and the EU

Soils4Africa (862900): Soil Information System for Africa

SustainSAHEL (861974): Synergistic Use and Protection of Natural Resources for Rural Livelihoods Through Systematic Integration of Crops, Shrubs and Livestock in the Sahel

SustInAfrica (861924): Sustainable intensification of food production through resilient farming systems in West & North Africa

UPSCALE (861998): Upscaling the Benefits of Push-Pull Technology for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in East Africa

WATERAGRI (858375): Water Retention and Nutrient Recycling in Soils and Streams for Improved Agricultural production

SPRINT (862568): SUSTAINABLE PLANT PROTECTION TRANSITION: A GLOBAL HEALTH APPROACH

Societal Challenge 2 (SC2) - Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy - aims to lead the transition towards an optimal and renewable use of biological resources, and towards sustainable primary production and processing systems. SC2 projects are managed by the Research Executive Agency (REA).