HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07: Towards commercialization of food systems microbiome solutions — expected outcomes, evaluation and traps

Topic	HORIZON-CL6-2027-02-FARM2FORK-07
Status	Forthcoming
Call	HORIZON-CL6-2027-02 — Call 02 - single stage (2027)
Destination	Fair, healthy and environment-friendly food systems from primary production to consumption (2026-27)
Type of action	Innovation Actions
Opening	20 April 2027
Deadline	23 September 2027
Budget	EUR 7 million to EUR 8 million per project · 2 projects expected · EUR 15.5 million in total
TRL at the end	TRL 7–8
Part B page limit	40 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 the following expected outcomes:”

EO1 identified barriers and opportunities for scaling up innovative products and technologies that leverage and/or support the microbiome for resilient, competitive and sustainable organic, circular and conventional food systems, contributing where relevant to biodiversity, climate and environmental sustainability.
EO2 improved in-situ testing of innovative microbiome solutions related to organic and conventional food systems to promote their access on the EU market.

Expected impacts named in the destination

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

EI1 agriculture and food systems contribute to ensuring a secure, safe, sustainable, nutritious, and affordable supply of healthy food in Europe and beyond by fostering its long-term competitiveness, resilience, scalability and sustainability within the boundaries of our planet with the One Health approach.
EI2 farmers are empowered to ensure the competitiveness, resilience and sustainability of the farming sector, through increasing knowledge, tools, innovative solutions, and advice that allow efficient productivity, working for and with nature, preserving and restoring biodiversity within agricultural ecosystems and helping to decarbonise the EU economy.
EI3 sustainable fisheries and aquaculture (in marine, brackish and freshwater) contribute to fair, healthy, resilient and environment-friendly food systems in healthy aquatic ecosystems with thriving diversity of species and habitats providing ecosystem and climate services and triggering growth and jobs’ creation in coastal and rural areas.
EI4 tools are provided so that citizens and communities are empowered to make the sustainable food choices and move towards safe, healthy, nutritious, accessible, affordable and sustainable diets. Insights and advances in life science and digital & data technologies are valorised to deploy solutions in practice across the EU.
EI5 food businesses, including food processing industries and SMEs, are supported to increase their resilience and competitiveness, while ensuring resource efficiency and sustainability, and human, animal and ecosystem health is preserved.

What evaluators will look for in this topic

Expected outcomes

Projects should contribute to all of the expected outcomes.
For each outcome (EO1 to EO2), 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.

“Proposals should address all the following activities:. promote the access to the EU market of innovative microbiome solutions (technologies or products leveraging and/or supporting microbial communities and their interaction with their host and/or environment) that are tackling challenges in sectors supporting resilient, competitive, climate-, environmental-friendly and sustainable food systems;. develop technologies, standards and/or…”
“Projects selected must follow the multi-actor approach.”
“Proposals should ensure an early engagement of researchers, businesses (including SMEs and startups), public authorities and policy makers, and consumers associations to co-develop, test, validate and adopt the solutions.”

Conditions that shape the proposal

Part B, sections 1–3: 40 pages (standard application form). Text beyond the limit is not read; tables and figures count.
TRL: the topic expects TRL 7–8 by the end of the project. State where you start and the evidence for it.
Innovation action: evaluators expect a plausible path to commercialisation and named first users or customers.
Other Eligible Conditions: “The following additional eligibility criteria apply: the proposals must apply the multi-actor approach. See definition of the multi-actor approach in this work programme part.”
Other Eligible Conditions: “In line with the “ restriction on control in innovation actions in critical technology areas ” delineated in General Annex B of the General Annexes, entities established in an eligible country but which are directly or indirectly controlled by China or by a legal entity established in China are not eligible to…”

Impact pathway and traps

The scope expects pilots or demonstration. Name the sites, the partners who run them and what is measured there.
Market uptake is part of the scope. Evaluators look for a credible route to market with named first adopters.
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

Microbiome solutions demonstrated high potential to support our food systems, making them more resilient, more productive and more environmental-friendly, for instance by boosting crop yields, improving food safety, supporting biodiversity and leveraging its benefits or decreasing fertilizers use or pesticide needs. However, bringing these solutions to the market face several challenges, for instance the lack of business models for widespread deployment, or consistently producing at scale effective microbiome solutions. The topic is relevant to the EU policies related to the Commission communication on: Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU, the new EU bioeconomy strategy, the Life Sciences Strategy, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the R&I Food 2030 Framework, the Clean Industrial Deal, and the policies on digital transition (e.g. AI Act, etc). Proposals should address all the following activities: promote the access to the EU market of innovative microbiome solutions (technologies or products leveraging and/or supporting microbial communities and their interaction with their host and/or environment) that are tackling challenges in sectors supporting resilient, competitive, climate-, environmental-friendly and sustainable food systems; develop technologies, standards and/or methodologies enabling cost-effective and reliable production and deployment at scale of microbiome solutions; provide business models for companies, SMEs and start-ups to facilitate the successful deployment and commercialization of microbiome solutions for the EU market. Projects selected must follow the multi-actor approach. Actors involved may be researchers, advisors, food and bioeconomy business, startups and SMEs. Proposals should ensure an early engagement of researchers, businesses (including SMEs and startups), public authorities and policy makers, and consumers associations to co-develop, test, validate and adopt the solutions.

Technology readiness, as published

Activities are expected to start from TRL 5 in order to achieve TRL 7-8 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.

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.

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-CL6-2027-02

Source and attribution