Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Regenerative living labs to improve soil ecosystem functions by adapting agricultural land use with livestock integration

Project description

Reviving Europe’s soils through regenerative livestock farming

Soil health underpins 95 % of Europe’s food production, yet 60-70 % of EU soils are degraded due to unsustainable farming and climate change, costing billions each year. Intensive livestock farming, a EUR 170 billion industry, is responsible for over 80 % of agricultural emissions and contributing to soil degradation through nutrient run-off and pollution. In this context, the EU-funded GroundWork project aims to transform livestock farming by promoting regenerative grazing practices tailored to diverse regional conditions. By involving farmers and stakeholders across five countries, GroundWork will co-design and test approaches that restore soil health, boost ecosystem resilience and support productive agriculture. This participatory effort has the potential to drive a green transition in European farming.

Objective

Soils form the basis of human health and prosperity, with 95% of food production reliant on this vital belowground ecosystem. However,60-70% of soils in the EU are degraded, primarily due to unsustainable agricultural practices and climate change, costing the EU an estimated €50 billion annually. One of the key contributors to soil degradation is intensive livestock farming. While livestock production contributes €170 billion to the EU economy and supports livelihoods, it also drives environmental challenges, including GHG emissions and water pollution. Intensive livestock farming accounts for >80% of agricultural emissions, with additional risks like ammonia emissions and nutrient runoff contributing to eutrophication and soil degradation. A shift towards sustainable, regenerative livestock farming is necessary to address these challenges.
The general objective of GroundWork is to catalyse the transformation of the European livestock & agricultural sector towards improved soil health, enhanced ecosystem resilience, and regenerative food production by harnessing the potential of adaptive livestock management across diverse EU regions, within a participatory R&I approach. To achieve this objective, GroundWork will engage a wide range of livestock grazing stakeholders to co-design and implement Regenerative Livestock Grazing Practices (RLGPs) based on regional farming realities and contexts. The co-creation processes will be done through the establishment of five LLs located in 5 countries (PT, DE, BE, SE, RS). The RLGPs will be tested & demonstrated across a range of farming systems (both conventional & organic) and different pedoclimatic zones. A Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) mechanism will be put in place to increase the number of farmers involved in the GroundWork LLs.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MISS-2024-SOIL-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

CY.R.I.C CYPRUS RESEARCH AND INNOVATION CENTER LTD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 694 062,50
Address
AGIAS ELENIS 6 AGIAS ELENIS BUILDING 4TH FLOOR FLAT OFFICE 43
1060 LEFKOSIA
Cyprus

See on map

SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Κύπρος Κύπρος Κύπρος
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 794 062,50

Participants (24)

Partners (3)

My booklet 0 0