AGRO-WELL Open Call for Smart Farming Innovations

The AGRO-WELL Open Call – Topic A provides up to €37,500 per project to demonstrate and validate smart farming solutions using AI, robotics or augmented reality (AR) that improve working conditions and support more sustainable, data‑driven agriculture on commercial farms.​

Opportunity overview

AGRO-WELL is an EU Horizon Europe project that develops AR, robotics, digital and data‑based technologies to enhance farm workers’ safety, reduce physical drudgery, and improve environmental performance across greenhouses, open fields, orchards and pig farming. Through this Open Call, the project will fund 4 sub‑projects under Topic A to test innovative smart farming solutions (TRL 5+) in real farming environments and assess their impacts on occupational safety and health, productivity and sustainability.​

Selected projects will receive lump‑sum funding of up to €37,500 each, at a 100% funding rate, for an implementation period of 12–18 months starting from November 2026, structured into the phases Design, Development and Validation. Funding is intended to cover typical project costs (personnel, equipment, travel, subcontracting, etc.) without detailed cost reporting, provided that agreed activities and deliverables are completed as described in the technical annex.​

The call targets solutions that can be demonstrated on commercial farms, showing clear potential to:​

• Improve farm workers’ safety and reduce physical strain and repetitive tasks.
• Support data‑driven decision‑making for efficient, sustainable farm management.
• Operate in at least one of the farming systems covered by AGRO‑WELL (greenhouses, open fields, orchards, pig farming) or other agricultural systems, excluding perennial crops such as vineyards and olive groves.

Eligible applicants and countries

AGRO‑WELL Topic A is open to individual organisations and small consortia (up to 3 partners) working with AI, AR or robotics for agriculture, including:​

• Startups, SMEs and scale‑ups developing smart farming technologies.
• Research institutes, NGOs and other organisations active in the agricultural sector.
• Commercial farms developing technologies from the bottom up and/or hosting on‑farm tests.

Applicants must be legal entities established in countries eligible for the Horizon Europe call HORIZON‑C6‑2024‑GOVERNANCE‑01‑7, namely:​

• European Union Member States.
• Associated Countries to Horizon Europe.
• Legal entities in non‑associated third countries (under the specific participation rules in the Guide for Applicants).
• International organisations with headquarters in an EU Member State or Associated Country.

Applications can be submitted by a single entity or a consortium of up to three organisations, but:​

• Each consortium may submit only one proposal.
• Each organisation may participate in only one consortium for this Call.
• Existing AGRO‑WELL consortium members and their affiliates are not eligible to apply.

Funding scope and project requirements

Topic A will fund 4 sub‑projects to demonstrate and assess digital and data‑based technologies in commercial farms, with the goal of validating solutions at TRL 6/7. Expected results include:​

• Demonstration of an AR/AI/robotics/automation‑based solution (already at TRL 5) on at least one commercial farm, with clear potential to enhance working conditions.​
• For fruit and vegetable farming, coverage of at least one full growing season.​
• A mandatory assessment of the impacts of the demonstrated solution on safety, ergonomics, productivity and sustainability.​

Overall eligibility checks will confirm:​

• The applicant is a legal entity in an eligible country.
• There is only one proposal per consortium, and each party is in only one consortium.
• The proposal clearly falls under Topic A (demonstration on commercial farms).
• In the case of fruit and vegetable systems, at least one growing season is included.

For Topic A, the key dates are:​

• Open Call Launch & Submissions
  • Start Date: 5 November 2025
  • End Date: 4 February 2026
  • Duration: 3 months
• Proposal Evaluation
  • Start Date: February 2026
  • End Date: April 2026
  • Duration: 3 months
• Contracting & Sub‑Grant Agreements
  • Start Date: May 2026
  • End Date: July 2026
  • Duration: 3 months
• Sub‑Project Implementation (Topic A)
  • Start Date: October 2026
  • End Date: October 2027 / March 2028
  • Duration: 12-18 months

Applicants must:​

• Register and complete the online application form for Topic A.
• Send the full application package in PDF (zipped) to agro‑well.FSTP@euroquality.fr, following the format in the Guide for Applicants.
• Ensure their proposal clearly aligns with Topic A objectives and expected outcomes.

Incomplete or late submissions, or proposals sent through other channels, will be automatically rejected; in case of multiple submissions, only the last version will be evaluated.​

Contact

For questions and clarifications about the AGRO‑WELL Open Call (Topic A), applicants should contact the Open Call team by email at agro‑well.FSTP@euroquality.fr no later than 48 hours before the deadline, i.e. by 3 February 2026, 17:00 CET.​

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