GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

Proposals should address the following activities:

• Connect advisors possessing a broad and extensive network of farmers across all EU Member States in an EU advisory network dedicated to the reduction of nutrient losses and optimal use of fertilisers, including bio-based fertilisers and farming techniques which support a sustainable nutrient management, including carbon farming, with a view to sharing experiences on how to best tackle the issues, building on the outcomes of the related EIP-AGRI focus groups and workshops.
• Share among the EU advisory network effective and novel approaches to the reduction of nutrient losses and the use of fertilisers, which are sustainable in terms of economic, environmental and social aspects.
• Fill gaps on emerging advisory topics beyond the classical sectoral advice, which is useful in particular in relation with the new obligation for Member States to integrate advisors within their AKIS and their obligation to cover a much broader scope than in the past.
• Provide overall support related to knowledge creation, organisation and sharing.
• Take strong account of cost-benefit elements. Select the best practices, learn about the key success factors, possible quick wins and make them available for (local) exploitation, to ensure financial win-wins for producers, citizens and intermediate actors.
• As innovation brokers they should encourage innovative projects on low-input sustainable farming systems in EIP Operational Groups. They should give hands-on training to farmers and local advisors, lead national thematic and learning networks on the subject, deliver and implement action plans to make farming activities more efficient, reduce farmers’ yield losses, inspire new and incoming farmers or farms at the cross-roads of intergenerational renewal, connect with education and ensure broad communication, support peer-to-peer consulting, develop on-farm demonstrations and demo films distributed widely via social media, and provide specific back-office support for generalist advisors within the national/regional AKIS.
• Explore if the activities of the EU advisory network on the reduction of nutrient losses and use of fertilisers can be scaled up at the level of a number of Member States under a cooperative format. Wherever possible, develop digital advisory tools for common use across the EU.