The latest EJP aims to establish an integrated and sustainable European research community on agricultural soils.
Over the next five years, 26 partners from 24 European countries will work together on climate-smart, sustainable management of agricultural soils, at the occasion of the newly launched European Joint Programme (EJP). The so-called EJP SOIL was established with the core mission to create an integrated European research community on agricultural soil management. European Joint Programme Cofund (EJP Cofund) are co-fund actions under the current European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (R&I) Horizon 2020 (H2020). They aim to support the coordination of national R&I programmes with the objective to attract and pool a critical mass of resources and to achieve economies of scales by adding H2020 resources to a joint effort.
The initiative will be closely aligned with future work to be developed under the “Soil health and food” Mission in the forthcoming European R&I Framework Programme Horizon Europe, and it is expected to contribute to the EU Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. It also covers climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security and ecosystem services. In the long term, EJP SOIL activities will in interaction with stakeholders, Member States and the European Commission (EC) support the development and the deployment of related policies such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Together, the consortium will co-fund a wide range of activities together with the EC, ranging from R&I projects to coordination, training and dissemination activities. The Swiss partner is the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. Together, the consortium has been awarded €40 mn in funding from H2020 in addition to co-funding of €40 mn from the programme owners and €10mn for external calls. The EJP Cofund directly supports consortium activities and/or single and multiple calls for proposals for financial support to third parties. Over the next years, the EJP SOIL will establish a common strategic research agenda, launch transnational calls and foster societal understanding of and capacity building in agricultural soil management. The EJP SOIL was launched on 26 and 27 February by the partners and national programme managers, where they discussed the priorities for the first year of implementation. The programme will run for a duration of five years. A provisional roadmap can be found here.
The forthcoming European R&I Framework Programme Horizon Europe (2021-2027) will simplify the current partnership landscape and establish three different types of ‘European Partnerships’, namely co-programmed, co-funded institutionalised partnerships.