Apply for funding for research projects in the field of bilateral and international cooperation on world food security

If your research institution conducts research on world nutrition and cooperates with certain international partners, you can apply for a grant from the federal government.

The federal government supports international research cooperation on world nutrition. You can apply for funding for your research institution.

You must carry out the research cooperation with at least one research and development institution or company in sub-Saharan Africa and/or in South and Southeast Asia.

You apply for funding from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE). The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) is responsible for the guidelines for awarding funding.

You can receive funding for research projects with the following thematic focus:

• Establishing long-term and sustainable partnerships between German research institutions in the agricultural and food sector and those in the target regions
• Development of an efficient and sustainable agricultural and food industry with regard to
  • economic efficiency
  • Environmental and resource protection
  • resource efficiency
  • Climate protection and adaptation
  • resilience
  • Animal welfare
  • Plant and animal health including zoonoses
  • Food safety
• Minimization of quantitative and qualitative losses
• Improving food safety and quality along supply chains and their development and optimization
• Improving the quality of nutrition
• Aligning the agriculture and food industry with the requirements of a balanced and defect-free diet
• Improving education and advisory systems and digitalization
• Solving complex economic, ecological and social challenges in order to improve food security in the long term through overarching system approaches

The Federal Gazette publishes thematically limited announcements.

The BLE generally funds projects with a duration of 36 months.

The grant covers your costs for project-related personnel, material and travel expenses, for example.
You can receive up to 100% funding for basic research projects. Cooperation partners in the partner countries are generally financed by forwarding grants.

• Project outline of a maximum of 12 pages in English
• Cost plan with details of expenditure
• Consortium agreement signed by all project partners
• project profile
• Research data management plan

• You apply for funding for your institution, for example:
  • Your university
  • Your non-university research and development institution
  • Your small or medium-sized enterprise (SME)
• The university, research institution or SME is based in Germany.
• You apply for funding in accordance with the funding guidelines.
• Your project makes a significant contribution to food security.
• Your research project is not supported by other public funds.
• The federal government has a considerable interest in carrying out the project.
• You are qualified as an applicant and have sufficient technical expertise to carry out the project.
• You provide a sufficiently detailed description and justification of the project.
• You can provide written evidence of the project-related costs eligible for funding and provide proper proof of use.
• You publish the solutions developed as part of the research project.
• As the recipient of the grant, you coordinate the research project centrally.
• You make the material that you have developed during your research project available to third parties in accordance with national and international legislation. This includes
  • information
  • data
  • software
• They ensure the transfer of knowledge of your results into practice.

• Objection
  Further information on how to lodge an objection can be found in the notification of your application for funding.

The first step is to submit a sketch. The sketch is submitted online:

• Call up the Easy-Online portal, the electronic forms system for applications, tenders and outlines of the Federal Government.
• Download the required forms for guidelines, information sheets, instructions and ancillary provisions from the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food's (BLE) form cabinet.
• Outline your research project in English.
• The portal will guide you step by step through the procedure and the required evidence.
• After the submission deadline, the project outlines received will be reviewed.
• The project management organization BLE will inform you of the result.

In the second step, you apply for funding.

• If the assessment is positive, you will be asked to submit a formal funding application in the second stage of the procedure.
• The BLE will review your funding application.
• If the assessment is positive, you will receive a notification of funding.

A deadline for submitting a project outline is specified in the respective funding announcement.

There are no costs.