The State Research Agency announces grants for projects along strategic lines for 2022.

• The grants are intended to finance industrial research projects with the aim of responding to the challenges identified in the thematic priorities.
• The 2022 call for proposals includes two specific priorities for the agri-food sector: "Improving agricultural sustainability at the territorial level based on agroecological principles and living laboratories" and "Digital transition in the agri-food sector."

The State Research Agency is calling for grants for "Projects along Strategic Lines 2022" to address the challenges identified in the thematic priorities determined in the calls.

The grants are intended to finance industrial research projects in collaboration between companies and research organizations. This is intended to promote advances in the fields of application to which the projects are directed, both in the scientific field and in technological development and innovation, as part of the State Plan for Scientific, Technical and Innovation Research for the period 2021-2023.

This call for applications is open from June 14 to July 5, 2022 , and can be found here .

Strategic lines

In this call , 18 thematic priorities have been established, of which there are two specific to the agri-food sector :

• Priority 13. “Improving agricultural sustainability at the territorial level based on agroecological principles and living laboratories”: The expected impact of this priority is to improve agricultural sustainability and assess the progress and impacts of the agroecological transition at the territorial level.
• Priority 17. “Digital transition in the agri-food sector”: The expected impacts of this priority are:

1. Accelerate the digital transition to reduce environmental impact and production costs, and increase product quality and traceability through the use of digital technologies.
2. Strengthen the position of producers and the resilience and transparency of supply chains , with secure and fair data exchange systems for the sector.
3. Increase and improve the use of digital tools in areas with limited connectivity; and enhance the data economy of food systems.

You can find more information about the 18 thematic priorities here .

Projects funded in the 2021 call

As an example of a beneficiary project in the 2021 call related to the agri-food sector, we can mention the "Sustainable Bioproduction of Insect Pheromones for Pest Control" , developed by the State Agency of the Council Superior of Scientific Research (CSIC) and AINIA (private technological center with more than 30 years of experience in R&D&I,) who received a grant of €301,192.80 for the first and €135,119.86 for the second. A third partner, Ecología Y Protección Agrícola SL , received a loan of €40,584.95.

State Research Agency (AEI)

The State Research Agency promotes R&D&I through:

• Competitive financing with public resources
• Promotes collaboration between stakeholders in the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation System.

Its mission is to promote scientific and technical research in all areas of knowledge by supporting the generation of knowledge with a high scientific, technical, economic, and social impact, aimed at addressing society's major challenges. The AEI's vision is to help individuals and institutions dedicated to research in Spain reach their potential and to ensure that research is a key driver of societal development.