In line with the European Green Deal priorities, the farm to fork strategy, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the EU zero pollution ambition, the successful proposal will promote sustainable, productive, climate-neutral, environment-friendly and resilient farming systems, which would provide consumers with affordable, safe, traceable, healthy and sustainable food while increasing the provision of ecosystem services.

The farm to fork strategy states that ‘[a] key area of research will relate to (…) increasing the availability and source of alternative proteins such as plant, microbial, marine and insect-based proteins and meat substitutes’. The ambitious targets in the farm to fork strategy on the reduction of fertilizer use by at least 20% by 2030 and on reaching at least 25% of EU agricultural land under organic farming by 2030 will also create a favourable environment for the development of EU-grown protein plants which naturally enrich the soil reducing the need for synthetic fertilisers. Most recently, the Versailles declaration^[1] also highlighted the importance of increasing EU plant-based proteins as a means of reducing the EU’s dependency on key imported agricultural products and inputs and improving food security.

The new common agricultural policy (CAP) put into practice eco-schemes that can provide support for longer rotation cycles with environmentally beneficial crops such as leguminous crops. Other instruments that benefit protein crops under the new CAP are sectoral interventions, investment subsidies under rural development programmes and coupled income supports.

Activities will also support the implementation of the action plan for the development of organic production.

Proposals results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Improved quantification, in environmental and economic terms, of the ecosystem services provided by legume crops, including those related to soil biodiversity and fertility.
• Increased knowledge and capacity of farmers and agricultural advisers to include minor and major legume crops in their cropping schemes with a positive ecological and economic impact.
• Diversified farming practices throughout the EU and Associated Countries, where legume crops contribute to healthier and sustainable diets, resilience to climate change and increase of agrobiodiversity.

The European Union and Associated Countries’ arable agricultural systems are often characterised by short rotations or monocultures, leading to problems such as higher pest pressure, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility or loss of biodiversity. As a result, there is an imperative need to reveal the full potential of diversification of cropping systems, with the aim of improving productivity, and supporting the development of resource-efficient and sustainable value chains. Protein-rich plants, and in particular legumes, play a key role in cross-cutting issues related to crop rotation, sustainable soil management and closing nutrient cycles. They have the potential to enable the environmental sustainability, productivity, climate neutrality and resilience of farming systems, by increasing the provision of ecosystem services while restoring and enhancing biodiversity and generating fair economic returns for farmers.

The environmental, nutritional and economic benefits that leguminous crops bring to all players of the value chain, provide an opportunity for further developing the leguminous crop sector in the EU and Associated Countries. This could eventually contribute to reducing the EU’s dependency on imports of nitrogen fertilisers and protein crops for feed, while support meeting the objectives of farm to fork strategy.

While the direct benefits of legume crops as food and feed are usually recognized, their environmental and economic benefits derived from the increase of the provision of the ecosystem services they provide, are less understood and not valorised. The focus of this proposal is on the economic and environmental benefits of the production of legume crops, regardless their cultivation purpose is for food or for feed uses.

Proposals should:

• Increase knowledge on the different and complementary benefits from the use of legume crops (both annual and perennials) in the provision of ecosystem and environmental services, such as the value of the nitrogen transfer to succeeding or companion crops (including in grassland systems), the efficiency of different legume varieties to fix nitrogen in the soil in function of specific conditions (e.g., soil type, established rhizobia consortia), the role of legume crops for wind protection, water runoff or other erosion control strategies.
• Explore new synergies between combinations of legume crops and other crops that can benefit from nitrogen fixation, in systems like crop rotations, intercropping, mixed cropping, cover cropping or agroforestry.
• Evaluate the global competitiveness of legume crops cultivation in different contexts of the EU and Associated Countries (considering relevant economic, social or environmental aspects) through a cost-benefit analyses and life-cycle environmental assessment, versus imports from third countries.
• Develop tools or methods that allow to measure and quantify in economic terms the value of the nitrogen transfer between various crops, for different crop combinations, in relation to environmental aspects such as the reduction of use of nitrogen fertiliser, carbon emissions, pollution, nitrogen losses, reduced GHG emissions, pest/weed/disease management and increased crop and microbial diversity.
• Identify and remove the barriers to crop diversification or to crop rotation. Provide indicators so that farmers and advisors are better equipped to evaluate the benefits of growing legumes, including for weed management, as well as recommendations to strengthen crop diversification and longer rotation cycles with environmentally beneficial crops.
• Promote the engagement of downstream actors in new value chains based on crop diversification. This should facilitate the market penetration of leguminous crops, linked to market outlets and consumers demand and influence the transition towards more sustainable and healthy food and feed systems.
• Include minor or underutilised legume crops (mostly perennial but also annual varieties) that are not the frequent objects of research activities. Consider their potential for enhancing the ecosystem and economic services not only due to their key role in sustainable soil management and closing nutrient cycles (likewise major legume crops) but also due to their adaptation to agroecological niches/marginal area and capability to withstand abiotic and abiotic stress and climate change.
• Generate capacity building material, organize trainings or knowledge sharing activities, including the development of guidelines (e.g. booklets, decision-support tools) to foment the dissemination, uptake and upscale of results.

Proposals should include a dedicated task, appropriate resources and a plan on how they will collaborate with other projects funded under this or other topics (i.e. but not limited to projects funded under topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-FARM2FORK-01-02 and HORIZON-CL6-2022-BIODIV-02-02-two-stage), and ensure synergy with relevant activities carried out under other initiatives in Horizon Europe such as the upcoming partnership on agroecology^[2] and the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”^[3]. Proposals should also seek potential synergies with and capitalise on the results of past or ongoing projects both in the EU and beyond (e.g., Horizon 2020 projects LegValue^[4] and TRUE^[5], the thematic network 'Legumes Translated’^[6] or SusCrop ERA-NET project^[7]).

Proposals should benefit both the conventional and the organic farming sectors.

In order to achieve the expected outcomes, international cooperation is encouraged. This topic should involve the effective contribution of social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines.

In this topic the integration of the gender dimension (sex and gender analysis) in research and innovation content is not a mandatory requirement.

[1] 20220311-versailles-declaration-en.pdf (europa.eu)

[2] ‘European Partnership accelerating farming systems transition: agroecology living labs and research infrastructures’ at: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/european-partnerships-horizon-europe/candidates-food-security_en

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe/eu-missions-horizon-europe/soil-health-and-food_en

[4] www.legvalue.eu

[5] www.true-project.eu

[6] www.legumestranslated.eu

[7] https://www.suscrop.eu/projects-first-call/legumegap