Research and innovation topic on managed aquifer recharge in rural and agricultural areas, i.e. the underground storage of surplus water to make it available during dry periods. It is the topic most directly relevant to irrigation in the whole Cluster 6 2026 round. Projects must develop and demonstrate MAR techniques under real conditions, assessing their effects on water quantity and quality, and must apply the multi-actor approach with direct involvement of farmers, land managers, water governance bodies and local authorities. Total budget EUR 12 million, with 2 expected grants of about EUR 6 million each. The call opened on 17 April 2026 and closes on 17 September 2026.
Consortia of legal entities: universities and research centres, companies including SMEs, public bodies, water utilities, farmers' organisations, NGOs. The multi-actor approach is mandatory, so the consortium must include end users of the knowledge produced (farmers, land reclamation and irrigation boards) and not only research organisations.
Requisito minimo di consorzio per le Research and Innovation Actions: almeno 3 soggetti giuridici indipendenti, stabiliti in 3 diversi Stati membri UE o paesi associati a Horizon Europe, di cui almeno 1 stabilito in uno Stato membro. Nessun requisito di stabilimento nazionale: un'impresa italiana è pienamente ammissibile come coordinatore o come partner. Soggetti di paesi terzi non associati possono partecipare come partner ma di norma senza finanziamento UE, salvo le deroghe dell'Allegato B del programma di lavoro. Il Centro comune di ricerca (JRC) può partecipare come beneficiario a costo zero o come partner associato ma non alla preparazione della proposta.
Status 'Open', opening and deadline dates verified on 27 August 2026 against the official Funding & Tenders Portal data endpoint. About three weeks remain until the deadline: too short to build a competitive multi-actor consortium from scratch, but enough to join an ongoing proposal as a partner. The topic does not fund the commercial deployment of irrigation systems, only their demonstration for research purposes.
Every piece of information on this page was read on 27 August 2026 from the pages below. Where they disagree, the managing body’s document prevails.
adattamento climaticoagricoltura sostenibilegestione idricairrigazionericerca e innovazione
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