HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-09: Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on… — expected outcomes, evaluation and traps

Topic	HORIZON-CL6-2027-01-BIODIV-09
Status	Forthcoming
Call	HORIZON-CL6-2027-01 — Call 01 - single stage (2027)
Destination	Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2026-27)
Type of action	Research and Innovation Actions · lump sum
Opening	20 April 2027
Deadline	22 September 2027
Budget	around EUR 6 million per project · 2 projects expected · EUR 12 million in total
TRL at the end	TRL 4–5
Part B page limit	45 pages (standard application form; check your call)
Template	Work Programme 2026–2027 application form

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes. The topic says: “Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:”

EO1 the efficiency and competitiveness of the organic crop breeding sector are boosted by providing organic breeders with a comprehensive toolbox to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping and suitable for organic production.
EO2 an improved understanding of key target traits for developing varieties adapted to intercropping farming systems is available to researchers and breeders, benefiting all agricultural systems.
EO3 the foundation for the development of future crop varieties that enhance benefits derived by intercropping, such as improved pest/weed management, increased nutrient and water use efficiency, improved pollination, improved soil fertility, reduced soil erosion and nutrient leaching, and enhanced productivity, is established.

Expected impacts named in the destination

The wider, long-term effects the destination seeks. Your outcomes feed them; they are not project deliverables.

EI1 Knowledge on biodiversity status and trends and drivers of biodiversity loss is improved.
EI2 Innovations, methods, pathways, models and tools are available and used to protect healthy and resilient ecosystems and to restore degraded ones, ensuring the continuous provision of ecosystem services, including for adaptation and/or mitigation to climate change.
EI3 The ongoing biodiversity crisis and its consequences, notably on ecosystem functioning and their services, and the need to monitor, protect, restore and sustainably use biodiversity are better understood to better benefit the whole society in an inclusive way.
EI4 Policymakers and stakeholders, all relevant economic sectors and society are aware and well informed of relevant challenges and opportunities of biodiversity protection, restoration and sustainable use, leading to better implementation of the biodiversity legislation and better valuation of ecosystem services, leading to transformative change towards a nature positive economy.
EI5 Farmers, foresters, land and sea managers, fishers and aquaculture producers have access to key information, and test and implement biodiversity-friendly management practices, while safeguarding food and water security and fostering competitiveness, demonstrating the long-term sustainability of these sectors.
EI6 Progress towards international commitments worldwide on biodiversity is made.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
For each outcome (EO1 to EO3), name who will use or adopt your results (a specific group, not “industry” or “society”), how they get them, and the indicator that shows the change, with baseline, target and date.
Use the topic's own words for each outcome, so the evaluator can tick it off.

What the scope asks for

Evaluators check the proposal against these sentences of the scope. Answer each one visibly, in the call's own words.

“To support farming practices that promote agrobiodiversity, there is a need to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping.”
“Proposals should:. provide novel insights into interactions and mechanisms that influence intercrop performance by advancing understanding of plant traits affecting both inter- and intraspecific interactions and their impact on crop outcomes.”
“The approach should consider eco-physiological processes and ideally encompass both aboveground crop interactions and belowground dynamics between intercropped roots and soil organisms;. develop new organic breeding approaches that prioritise enhancing crop performance within multi-species systems, emphasising the importance of competition, complementarity and facilitation mechanisms between crops;. identify crop combinations and…”
“Particular attention should be given to aspects related to the regulations for the use and development of Organic Heterogeneous Material (OHM) and/or Organic Varieties Suitable for Organic Production (OVSOP) as innovative categories of plant reproductive material.”
“Proposals should build on the results of relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and ensure collaboration with relevant ongoing projects.”
“Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructure in the environment, biological and food domains.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

Part B, sections 1–3: 45 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
Lump sum: the budget is fixed per work package and paid when each work package is completed. Every work package needs activities and deliverables an evaluator can verify, and the effort must match the money.
TRL: the topic expects TRL 4–5 by the end of the project. State where you start and the evidence for it.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: “Beneficiaries may provide financial support to third parties. The support to third parties can only be provided in the form of grants. The maximum amount to be granted to each third party is EUR 60 000.”

Impact pathway and traps

The scope expects pilots or demonstration. Name the sites, the partners who run them and what is measured there.
Policy or regulation is in scope. Name the policy owners you will reach and what you will give them.
Keep outputs, outcomes and impacts apart: what you deliver, what changes when others use it, and the long-term effect.
For each destination impact you claim, show which of your outcomes feeds it. Destination impacts are long-term effects, not project deliverables.
Name the barriers outside the project (regulation, markets, user behaviour) that could block uptake, and what you will do if they do.
Section 2.3 (the summary canvas) is optional on this call; the old split into scientific, economic and societal impact is no longer required.

The scope, as published

Plant breeding has focused on maximising yield in single species stands for monocropping systems, leading to highly productive yet specialised varieties. As a result, most varieties on the market may not perform well in intercropping systems, where productivity and benefits often depend on the interactions between crops. To support farming practices that promote agrobiodiversity, there is a need to develop varieties specifically adapted to intercropping. However, selecting varieties specifically for intercropping remains a practical challenge for breeding. Proposals should: provide novel insights into interactions and mechanisms that influence intercrop performance by advancing understanding of plant traits affecting both inter- and intraspecific interactions and their impact on crop outcomes. The approach should consider eco-physiological processes and ideally encompass both aboveground crop interactions and belowground dynamics between intercropped roots and soil organisms; develop new organic breeding approaches that prioritise enhancing crop performance within multi-species systems, emphasising the importance of competition, complementarity and facilitation mechanisms between crops; identify crop combinations and superior–performing variety combinations that consistently yield well together; provide inputs for the development of future testing and selection criteria, as well as tools and methods for evaluating the performance of specialized genotypes in intercropping conditions, laying the groundwork for breeders and bodies entrusted to establish these frameworks. Particular attention should be given to aspects related to the regulations for the use and development of Organic Heterogeneous Material (OHM) and/or Organic Varieties Suitable for Organic Production (OVSOP) as innovative categories of plant reproductive material. If applicable, proposal may advance pre-existing breeding material towards the development of OHM and/or OVSOP for intercropping, making use of the knowledge and tools developed within the project. Proposals should build on the results of relevant projects funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe and ensure collaboration with relevant ongoing projects. Proposals are encouraged to consider, where relevant, the data, expertise and services offered by European research infrastructure in the environment, biological and food domains. Proposals may provide financial support to third parties (FSTP) to, for instance, develop, test and demonstrate the new organic breeding approaches for intercropping. The projects under this topic are relevant to the EU policies related to the EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, to the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production, to the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (notably target 8) and to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (target 10).

Technology readiness, as published

Activities are expected to achieve TRL 4-5 by the end of the project – see General Annex B. Activities may start at any TRL. biological and physiological mechanisms that plants undergo to interact with the surrounding physical, chemical and biological environments when cultivated in an intercrop system (e.g. nutrient/water uptake, root structure, interactions with insects/pollinators, disease…

Source and attribution

Topic text from the official topic page on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, retrieved 19 October 2026. © European Union, reused under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU (CC BY 4.0). Changes: the expected outcomes and impacts are split into numbered statements, long passages are shortened, and the evaluator checklist is GrantWise's own commentary. Your call and the Work Programme always win; check them before you submit. GrantWise is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the European Commission.

Enhancing the competitiveness of organic crop breeding: focus on intercropping adapted varieties

Expected outcomes

Expected impacts named in the destination

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

What the scope asks for

Conditions that shape the proposal

Impact pathway and traps

Other topics in HORIZON-CL6-2027-01

Source and attribution