EU Mission: A Soil Deal for Europe

What are EU Missions?

EU Missions are a new way to bring concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. They have ambitious goals and will deliver tangible results by 2030. 

They will deliver impact by putting research and innovation into a new role, combined with new forms of governance and collaboration, as well as by engaging citizens.

EU Missions are a novelty of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme for the years 2021-2027.

Register for the webinar ‘Farm to Fork: A Soil Deal for Europe’

In the context of this mission the Netherlands Space Office and Groundstation.Space are organising a webinar, where participants will learn about funding opportunities in Horizon Europe around this theme, on Tuesday 25 October 2022, from 16:00 to 17:30 CET.

You can register for this webinar for FREE by clicking here.

What this EU Mission deals with

The main goal of the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil is the foundation of our food systems. It provides clean water and habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. It supports our cultural heritage and landscapes and is the basis of our economy and prosperity.

However, it is estimated that between 60 and 70% of EU soils are unhealthy. Soil is a fragile resource that needs to be carefully managed and safeguarded for future generations. One centimetre of soil can take hundreds of years to form, but can be lost in just a single rainstorm or industrial incident.

The Mission leads the transition towards healthy soils by  

• funding an ambitious research and innovation programme with a strong social science component 
• putting in place an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions and demonstrate their value in real-life conditions
• developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring in Europe
• raising people’s awareness on the vital importance of soils

The 8 Mission objectives

1. reduce desertification
2. conserve soil organic carbon stocks
3. stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils
4. reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
5. prevent erosion
6. improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity
7. reduce the EU global footprint on soils
8. improve soil literacy in society

The Mission will support the EU’s ambition to lead on global commitments, notably the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contribute to the European Green Deal targets on sustainable farming, climate resilience ,biodiversity and zero-pollution. It is also a flagship initiative of the long-term vision for rural areas.

To know more about how the Mission will achieve its goal, read the Mission implementation plan