EU Missions & cross-cutting activities: A Soil Deal for Europe Mission

25 April 2024. This event aimed to inform potential applicants about the new topics included in the EU Missions and Cross-cutting Activities work programme 2024.

Call: HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01-09: 

Assessment of Soil Health in Africa (see page 295 - 299: Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-2025: Missions and Cross-cutting Activities #376 p.)

Activities under this topic will advance the international dimension of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ and contribute to its specific objectives, in particular objective 4 "reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration". Activities will also contribute to the EU-Africa Partnership on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture, African Union strategies, initiatives and action plans relevant for soil health and support global commitments and SDGs, in particular in the areas of sustainable agriculture, food and nutrition security, biodiversity, and climate. 

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

1. Enhanced and accessible data for policy makers and intergovernmental organisations to inform a continental 'convergence of evidence' map that indicates areas in Africa that are likely to be affected by soil degradation processes (as has been implemented for Europe with the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard). 
2. Enhanced access to knowledge that can be used by a wide range of stakeholders to inform soil and land management policies and practices, prioritize areas for intervention and research and development, and support improved advisory services for farmers in Africa. 
3. Improved datasets are available on soil threats/properties which will contribute to the development of an interactive Soil Health Dashboard for Africa.