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CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS LC-GD-6-1-2020: Testing and demonstrating systemic innovations in support of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy

Topic outline

  • Brief information on the Funding Opportunity

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    Note that the topic call is broader but there is one specific area relevant for ALICE

    Scope E: Reducing food losses and waste at every stage of the food chain including consumption, while also avoiding unsustainable packaging

    Geographical coverage: EU
    Available contribution M€:  Contribution from the EU of between EUR 9 and 12 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. (It is expected that 1 project is funded under this scope)

    Deadlines: Single Stage end of January 2021

    Type of Action: Innovation Action (IA)

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  • Specific Challenge

    • European food is famous for being safe, nutritious and of high quality. It should now also become the global standard for sustainability. Although the transition to more sustainable systems is starting, it remains a big challenge to feed a fast-growing world population and bring food systems within a safe and just operating space - encompassing planetary health, economic viability and social welfare, and including human health. Current production practices and consumption patterns still result in air, water and soil pollution, contribute to the loss of biodiversity and to climate change, may challenge animal welfare and consume excessive amounts of natural resources, including water and energy, while an important part of food is wasted. At the same time, unbalanced diets contribute to obesity and other nutrition-related diseases. Here are some of the facts:

      • Agriculture is responsible for 10.3% of the EU’s GHG emissions (1); Food is a significant source of GHG-emissions contributing to about 17% of EU household emissions, similar to housing (22%) (2);
      • Nitrogen and phosphorus cycles exceed their safe operating space in Europe, respectively by a factor of 3.3 and 2 resulting in diffuse pollution of terrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric ecosystems (3);
      • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) linked to the excessive and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in animal and human healthcare leads to an estimated 33,000 human deaths in the EU/EEA every year (4), and considerable healthcare costs;
      • About 20% of the food produced in the EU is being wasted (5);
      • One in five EU adults are obese and half are overweight (6). Many Europeans die prematurely, or suffer from illnesses due to diet related diseases.
      In addition, the COVID19 pandemic highlighted the importance of robust and resilient EU food systems within a sustainable, circular bioeconomy to respond to global shocks and disruptions in supply chains, and to mitigate socio-economic impacts of crises notably as regards food poverty.

      The Farm to Fork Strategy (https://ec.europa.eu/food/farm2fork_en), which is at the heart of the European Green Deal, aims to address the challenges and accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems, to ensure that the economic, social and environmental foundations of food and nutrition security are not compromised for current and future generations. It places emphasis on enabling a “just transition” for all actors of the food systems, in which also social inequalities are reduced, food poverty is addressed, and a fair income for all actors is ensured. It requires and builds on innovative systemic solutions that can be scaled up, such as smart agro-ecological practices, new protein sources other than meat, sustainable food from the oceans and aquaculture, and personalised advice relating to sustainable healthy diets. Concerted efforts are needed to test, demonstrate and scale-up such solutions and target impact in this decade.

      (1) EEA (2019), Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990-2017 and Inventory report 2019. These figures do not include CO2 emissions from land use and land use change.
      (2) D. Ivanova, et al, 2017, Mapping the carbon footprint of EU regions (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6da9/meta)
      (3) EEA/FOEN report (2020) ‘Is Europe living within the limits of our planet?’ https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/is-europe-living-within-the-planets-limits
      (4) Cassini et al., (2019) ‘Attributable deaths and disability-adjusted life-years caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the EU and the European Economic Area in 2015: a population-level modelling analysis’, in Lancet Infect Dis. Vol.19, issue 1, pp. 55-56

  • Scope

    • A range of activities will support the deployment and scaling up of innovations that contribute to the objectives of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy (6) Proposals will test, pilot and demonstrate innovative systemic solutions (TRL 5-7) in one of out of six urgent and pressing food systems’ challenges being the one relevant for ALICE the following:

      E. Reducing food losses and waste at every stage of the food chain including consumption, while also avoiding unsustainable packaging (IA)

      (6) See European Commission Communication “A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system”, COM(2020)381

      The Commission considers that proposals should go well beyond technological solutions. They should focus on systemic innovations that maximise synergies and minimise trade-offs to deliver on the three dimensions of sustainability (social/health, climate/environmental and economic), that consider co-benefits such as with biodiversity and animal welfare, that enhance resilience of food systems to shock and stresses, and that enable them to operate within a safe and just operating space and ensure sufficient, safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all.
      Proposals should pay particular attention to:

      • Applying system thinking/system approaches to define the challenge, including an in-depth systemic analysis of its drivers and root causes; to identify possible innovative systemic solutions from production (7) to consumption; to assess their expected and actual impact including risks, synergies, and trade-offs with regards to the three pillars of sustainability (social/health, climate/environmental and economic), food and nutrition security, food system resilience, food safety and the objectives outlined in the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Green Deal.
      • Adopting a multi-actor and cross-sectoral approach engaging practitioners (primary producers, processors, retailers, food service providers, consumers), public and private institutions (governmental institutions, NGOs, industry) and citizens from farm to fork to co-create, test and demonstrate solutions from production to consumption, in practice, on a European scale but with attention for regional and sectoral needs and contexts (environmental, socioeconomic, cultural). Foster collaboration, building bridges and breaking silos between actors of the food chain and between primary sectors as well as collective action. Take specific care to engage young professionals (e.g., young farmers, young fishers, young researchers, young entrepreneurs, etc.), SMEs, consumers and citizens.
      • Including the most appropriate mix of innovations, such as novel and digital technologies, new business and supply chain models, new governance models, ecological and social innovations while taking into account regional and sectoral contexts (environmental, socioeconomic, cultural) and needs, both for production and consumption. The projects shall focus on upscaling innovations (TRL level 5-7, and can include limited research activities to address specific gaps for solution building, testing and demonstration. Particular attention should be given to understand behaviours, motivations and barriers, with a view to maximizing the uptake of solutions. The innovations delivered by the proposals have to take into account the EU market regulatory frameworks (e.g. safety, environmental) and relevant requirements.
      • Where appropriate, capitalise on existing testing and demonstration facilities to strengthen their capacity to address the challenge and showcase solutions.
      • Delivering and implementing an action plan for dissemination, communication and engagement, for building awareness, education and skills relevant to the solutions on a European scale, in and beyond the regions where the activities take place, among businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, institutions, stakeholders and citizens. Promote their widespread uptake, realize behavioural change, and stimulate investment. Proposals should foresee a dedicated work package for cooperating with European Commission services and with all selected projects under this topic on the implementation of this action plan, with a view to increasing the impact of that plan. Projects may link with other relevant European and national programmes, where appropriate.

  • Expected Impact

    • Proposals are expected to:
      • Demonstrate innovative systemic solutions that have the potential to generate significant positive impacts by 2030 with regards to :
        • Reducing food losses and waste and the use of unsustainable packaging, at every stage of the food chain including consumption (Scope E);
        • Providing sufficient, safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all (Scopes (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F));
        • Improving the overall sustainability of food systems (social/health, climate/environmental and economic) (Scopes (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F));
        • Improving the resilience of food systems to shocks and stresses (Scopes (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F)).
      • Contribute significantly to the achievement of the objectives and targets of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy and The European Green Deal, and in particular to:
        •  Reducing GHG-emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared with 1990 levels (Scope A, B, E, F);
        • Halving the per capita food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030 (Scope E);
      • Achieve an increase in awareness among policy makers, businesses, investors, entrepreneurs, institutions, stakeholders and citizens of selected innovative systemic solutions, of their potential and of the requirements to promote and realise their uptake at EU scale and behavioural change (Scopes (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), and (F)).