Kildare Minister encourages researchers to apply to EU-funded Mission worth €62 million
One Kildare Minister has called on researchers to apply to European Commission funded Mission worth €62 million.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Research and Development, Martin Heydon TD, encouraged Irish researchers to apply to the Horizon Europe Soil Mission (HESM) Call, which aims to to protect and restore soils in Europe.
The HESM offers the Irish research community targeted funding opportunities in eight different areas, including the social, economic and cultural factors driving land management, developing indicators for soil health and functions, and linking soil health to nutritional and safe food.
Minister Heydon explained: "Good soil health is critical in sequestering carbon, producing nutrient-dense food, supporting biodiversity, building resilience against climate change and much more besides."
The Fine Gael TD continued: "I therefore strongly encourage Irish researchers to submit applications to this significant research call and my Dept, through its participation in the Irish support team, will help in any way it can to ensure strong Irish participation."
Minister Heydon added: “There are a wide range of research funding opportunities focused on Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment under Horizon Europe."
"Ireland was very successful in the previous Horizon 2020 programme and our aim is to build on this and increase participation and success in Horizon Europe," the Kildare-South Minister added.
A virtual information day will be held on January 19, 2022 to inform potential applicants about the new topics included in the EU Missions work programme 2021, the details of which can be found here.
The Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, ‘Soil Deal for Europe’ Mission is currently open for applications.
The deadline for submissions is March 24, 2022 (17:00 CEST) with projects expected to commence in Circa November 2022.
In addition, details of the Soil Deal for Europe mission can be found here, while information relating to the various Mission work programmes can be found here.
Further information on the various soil missions can be found on the Funding & Tenders Portal.