This call is relevant for cities and regions aiming to scale up circular water management in agriculture. In the face of increasing climate pressures, circular approaches, including the use of alternative water sources and smart storage systems, can significantly reduce reliance on surface and groundwater, thereby lowering the environmental footprint of agriculture and food systems.

The objective of this call is to increase the resilience of agriculture to water scarcity with improved circular water management systems and enable farmers and relevant actors to manage farming systems in a long-term sustainable and resource-efficient way.

To acheive this, proposals must implement the multi-actor approach (MAA), involving at least scientists, companies working in the field of water management and agriculture, farmers and consumers, in order to co-create the knowledge and adapted solutions, and enhance the adoption process.

Any type of organisation can apply for Horizon Europe funding as long as they have the operational and financial capacity to carry out the tasks that they propose. For most calls for proposals, you must apply as a team of at least 3 partner organisations from 3 different EU or associated countries. At least one of the 3 partners must be from an EU country. In addition to these 3 partners, organisations from other countries might be able to join your consortium.

More information in the Horizon Europe programme guide. Further details or exceptions are listed on the pages of the call topics in the Funding & tenders portal.

Proposals should: test different strategies and technologies for irrigation or for other agricultural purposes (including drinking water for livestock), using alternative water sources (considering the most feasible sources according to the specific conditions of availability, climate, soil, socio-economics, environment) in the long-term in real-life contexts across the EU and Associated Countries (where relevant) at a larger scale beyond small experimental sites, covering the whole water cycle in agriculture; identify and test different business models regarding financial viability and long-term economic sustainability (including cost-benefit analysis or agro-economic modelling) for the adoption of alternative water sources, considering different scenarios, pedo-climatic conditions and socio-economic contexts; evaluate the long-term impact of the use of alternative water sources on soil health, including the soil microbiome, crop productivity and quality, food and feed safety and on freshwater resources and ecosystems (surface and groundwater), considering seasonal variations of water source quality (including persistent chemicals and microplastics’ releases) and quantity, such as situations of extreme water scarcity; test and document cost-efficient methodologies and techniques to monitor most relevant quality and quantity parameters in real-time and/or to remove contaminants for a safe and efficient management of water from different sources; identify societal, behavioural and regulatory challenges still hampering upscaling of alternative water sources’ uptake for irrigation and development of suitable solutions to increase the uptake in practice; develop, test and make recommendations for improved and targeted incentives and policies at regional, national and European level to reduce financial, social and economic barriers for adoption and acceptance of circular water management in agriculture by farmers and consumers; enhance the dissemination of existing knowledge, by connecting actors, policies, projects and instruments to speed up adoption of solutions by practitioners, and by providing training and advice for farmers and demonstration activities.

The total indicative budget for the topic is EUR 12.00 million. The Commission estimates that an EU contribution of around EUR 6.00 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of a proposal requesting different amounts.

1. EC publishes calls for proposals on the funding and tenders portal
2. The call is open for an usual period of ca. 5 months where applicants can submit they proposal
3. Proposals can be single or two-stage application processes. A single stage application process requires the filling in of a structured proposal of max. 45 pages including objectives and innovation approach (excellence), tangible impacts that can be achieved through the project (impact) and the project planning and tasks (quality). If a two stage, the aforementioned would be the second stage application while the first is a simplified proposal of max 10 pages including only excellence and impact sections. These documents are to be uploaded to the portal in pdf format alongside filling in the respective parts of the portal with administrative information on the beneficiares, affiliated entities or others. All participants in a project need to possess a Partipant Identification Code (i.e. PIC number, a 9-digit number registered on ECAS). For more information, please see the work programme and the call documents.
4. Proposal submitted within the deadline will be evaluated by experts against evaluation criteria.
5. Winning proposals will be invited for signing a grant agreement with the EC.

Opening: 06 May 2025
 

Deadline: 16 Sep 2025