EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe': €90 million for 17 new projects to support healthy soils
The European Commission invested €90 million in 17 more research projects that contribute to the EU Mission: ‘A Soil Deal for Europe', one of the EU Rural action plan flagships for resilient rural areas. These projects focus on restoring and protecting soil health to support sustainable food production, biodiversity preservation, climate resilience, and the European Green Deal objectives.
These projects involve 314 participants from 32 countries, including EU Member States, Horizon Europe associated countries (Israel, Kosovo, Norway, Serbia, and Turkey), as well as non-associated countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Switzerland). Participants include universities, research institutions, SMEs, businesses, NGOs, and local authorities.
By 2030, these projects should help progress towards soil health restoration and protection, including:
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Establishing a knowledge and data repository to consolidate research and innovation knowledge on soil and soil health.
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Reducing food processing waste and utilising residues to develop and test organic soil improvers and fertilising products.
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Providing indicators to assess soil biodiversity and ecosystem services in agroecosystems and forest ecosystems.
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Developing tools and methods to identify sources of soil pollution and enhance cost-effective sustainable land management in urban and rural areas.
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Promoting carbon farming, standardising methodology, and implementing certification mechanisms for soil carbon accounting.
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Creating a framework to monitor, report, and verify land managers' efforts to sequester carbon dioxide and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Co-creating materials, guidelines, curriculum standards, and training related to soil education.
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Establishing a one-stop-shop structure to support, expand, and promote the upcoming network of 100 Mission Soil Living Labs and Lighthouses, starting next year.
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Reducing incineration and landfilling while improving nutrient recovery from bio-waste.
Independent experts selected the 17 projects from 71 eligible applications submitted in 2022. Most of these projects have already started, and they are managed by the European Research Executive Agency (REA). More details about the projects, including budgets and beneficiaries, can be found in the project overview.