Agriculture of Data (AgData) Partnership

The AgData Call 2025 is a joint transnational call for research proposals under the Agriculture of Data Partnership, inviting projects that align with one of three strategic topics: Data Technologies and Data Management, Data-based Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture, or Data-based Solutions for Policy-making. Co-funded by the European Commission and 22 funding organisations from 17 countries, the call mobilizes a total budget of approximately €16 million. Research Ireland and the Department for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) are both participating as agencies to support Irish-based researchers in developing international collaborations under the themes of the call. 

Through this call, the AgData Partnership aims to stimulate and accelerate research and innovation in the field of data-driven agriculture, contributing directly to the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the European agricultural data ecosystem. 

The call follows a two-step procedure, with a pre-proposal stage and an invited full-proposal stage. 

The aims of the AgData Call 2025 are to: 

1. Advance data-driven innovation in agriculture
   Support transnational research projects that harness agricultural, environmental, and earth observation data to develop practical solutions for real-world challenges. 
2. Contribute to the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)
   Fund projects that align with and implement the Core Research & Innovation Activities (C-R&I-As) outlined in the SRIA of the Agriculture of Data Partnership. 
3. Support the green and digital transitions
   Promote the use of digital technologies, including AI and data platforms, to enhance sustainability, productivity, and resilience in agriculture. 
4. Enable policy monitoring and evaluation
   Develop tools and indicators to improve the performance assessment of agricultural policies, especially the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and reduce administrative burdens. 
5. Foster multi-actor and user-centric approaches
   Encourage collaboration among researchers, farmers, advisors, policymakers, and technology providers to ensure solutions are relevant, inclusive, and widely adopted. 
6. Stimulate the development of Use Cases
   Ensure that funded projects include real-life applications (Use Cases) that demonstrate the value and impact of data-based solutions in agricultural settings. 

Research Ireland is supporting proposals across all three call topics. 

Applicants must choose one of the following topics and align their proposal accordingly: 

• Topic 1 – Data Technologies and Data Management
  Projects should improve how agricultural data is accessed, integrated, and shared using FAIR principles. They should tackle data fragmentation and enable AI applications through better interoperability. Solutions may include data marketplaces, semantic frameworks, and tools for quality assurance. 
• Topic 2 – Data-based Solutions for Sustainable Agriculture
  This topic supports tools that help farms adapt to climate change and improve sustainability. Projects should enhance decision support systems, farm performance benchmarking, and precision agriculture. Use of AI, digital twins, and sensor data is encouraged. 
• Topic 3 – Data-based Solutions for Policy-making
  Projects should develop indicators and tools to monitor and evaluate agricultural policies, especially the CAP. They should reduce administrative burdens and support smarter policy design. Proposals may include harmonized datasets and advanced monitoring systems. 
• General Requirements
  All proposals must address at least one of the Core Research & Innovation Activities (C-R&I-As) under the selected Topic. They must include at least one Use Case and follow a multi-actor, user-centric approach. Compliance with EU policies on data governance, cybersecurity, and the AI Act is required. 

Only an academic partner or coordinator based in an eligible Irish Host Research body may apply for Research Ireland funding. 

The Irish-based applicant must: 

• hold a PhD or equivalent qualification for at least 3 years by the pre-proposal deadline. The official date is defined as the day, month and year that the degree was conferred i.e., the month and year printed on the official PhD certificate. 

AND 

• be a member of the academic staff of an eligible Research Body (permanent or with an active contract that covers the period of the grant) 

OR 

• be a contract researcher with a contract that covers the period of the grant, who is recognised by the eligible Research Body as an independent investigator and will have an independent office and research space for which he/she will be fully responsible for at least the duration of the Research Ireland grant 

OR 

• be an individual who will be recognised by the eligible Research Body upon receipt of the grant as an academic staff or as a contract researcher as defined above. The applicant does not necessarily need to be employed by the Research Body at the time of the application submission. 

AND 

• be an author on at least three international peer-reviewed articles. Only original research publications, and not review articles or other secondary research literature, are acceptable. 

Applicants must also meet the primary eligibility and consortium requirements of Agriculture of Data: Call 1 as defined in the Call Announcement (Section 4). 

In addition: 

• Research Ireland will only accept one application per applicant. 

Awarded projects will have a duration of up to 36 months. For applicants based in Ireland, Research Ireland will provide the following funding for projects: 

• Up to a maximum of €330,000 direct costs per award for Irish applicants as Partner on transnational proposals. 
• Up to a maximum of €405,000 direct costs per award for Irish applicants as Coordinator on transnational proposals. 

*The maximum total award, including overhead contribution, will be €430,000, for a partner and €530,000 for applicants who take on the role of coordinator. 

Eligible costs 

All requested costs must be comprehensively justified. Please include detailed descriptions and cost itemisation in the proposal. 

1. Salary-related costs for research personnel. Please use current Research Ireland Team Member Salary Scales. The Irish partner cannot request their own salary or buy-out. 
2. Equipment costs up to a maximum value of €50K 
3. Travel costs with consideration for Research Ireland’s Guidance for Sustainable Travel Policy   
4. Direct running costs (materials and consumables) 
5. Dissemination and knowledge exchange costs     
6. Subcontracting costs may be considered an eligible budget category however strong justification for subcontracting must be provided and pre-approved directly with Research Ireland in advance of pre-proposal submission. 

Unless otherwise stated, all rules regarding listed eligible costs apply as defined within Research Ireland’s grant budget policy. Please refer to this policy closely in the development of the budget request. 

Ineligible costs 

Research Ireland will not provide a contribution towards the salary of the applicant, international co-applicants or collaborators. 

All additional ineligible costs apply as described in Research Ireland’s grant budget policy. 

• AgData Website: https://agdata.ptj.de/call1 

Please give a brief notification of your intent to submit a pre-proposal through email to eu-cofund@researchireland.ie before the submission deadline. Within the notification, please include the following information: 

• Call topic 
• List of project partners 
• Irish Host institution* 
• Total budget request to Research Ireland 
• Whether you intend to apply as a coordinating or non-coordinating partner 

 *Please note it is also the responsibility of the applicant to notify the Research Office of their Host Institution of their intention to submit a pre-proposal. 

The completed pre-proposal must be submitted directly on the Agriculture of Data: Call 1 Submission Platform.