The European Commission has announced an additional €500 million allocation to Horizon Europe, the European Union’s flagship research and innovation funding programme. With this increase, the budget for 2026 and 2027 now stands at approximately €14.8 billion.
The initiative strengthens Europe’s commitment to innovation, environmental sustainability and business competitiveness, three areas closely linked to the challenges currently facing livestock farms and the wider agri-food supply chain.
New opportunities for sustainable livestock farming and innovation
One of the main developments is the “Transformative Change Towards a Nature-Positive Economy and Society” call, with a budget of €227 million to fund 11 research and innovation actions related to biodiversity.
Although this call is not specifically aimed at the livestock sector, its objectives may be relevant to the development of more sustainable production models, the conservation of natural resources and a better balance between economic activity and environmental protection.
For European livestock farms, progress in these areas involves addressing challenges such as efficient resource management, reducing environmental impact, adapting to new sustainability requirements and maintaining profitability.
In this context, research and knowledge transfer play a fundamental role in developing solutions that can be implemented on farms and adapted to their production needs.
Research, digitalisation and business competitiveness
The European Commission has also announced the “Bridging Actions 2027” call, with a budget of €260 million to finance 16 actions designed to help translate research into commercial applications and prepare the next European research programme for 2028-2034.
This initiative aims to strengthen the connection between scientific advances, emerging technologies and their market deployment.
Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and technological innovation are becoming increasingly important tools for improving the efficiency and competitiveness of European businesses, including those operating in the agri-food sector.
The programme also includes new research initiatives related to skills development for small and medium-sized enterprises, biodiversity and the environmental impact of economic activities.
Horizon Europe has mobilised €61 billion in research funding
The European Commission has also published two monitoring reports highlighting the scale of Horizon Europe since its launch in 2021.
To date, the programme has allocated €61 billion in grants and a further €1.3 billion in equity investments, supporting nearly 23,000 projects involving more than 34,000 organisations, including 20,000 companies.
The private sector has received more than €11 billion, demonstrating the importance of business participation in developing innovative solutions.
Furthermore, 55% of the beneficiaries analysed are newcomers to EU research and innovation programmes, with businesses accounting for two-thirds of these new participants.
Innovation is key to the future of livestock farming
The expansion of Horizon Europe reinforces the role of research as a tool for addressing the European Union’s major economic, technological and environmental challenges.
For the livestock sector and meat industry, these policies offer an opportunity to make further progress in sustainability, production efficiency, digitalisation and competitiveness.
The participation of farmers, businesses, technology centres and industry organisations in research and knowledge transfer projects will be essential to ensure that scientific advances are translated into practical, economically viable solutions adapted to the realities of livestock farms.
Source: European Commission. Information on the expansion of the Horizon Europe 2026-2027 programme and its monitoring reports.
