Identification & Background 

Project Title: PROSPER – Promoting Resilient Orphan Legumes for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

Project code: HORIZON-CL6-2024-BIODIV-02 (Grant agreement ID: 101181400)

Main objective: The PROSPER project seeks sustainable solutions to promote crop diversification, valuing neglected legumes (“orphan legumes” – OLs) resilient in Mediterranean Europe, Central and the North, targeting various geographical regions and climate conditions. Using a multi-actor approach (MAA), PROSPER will address the needs of stakeholders and end-users and encourage their active involvement in co-creating technical solutions. The participatory services of explicit spatial information (SEIS) will offer personalized information to all PROSPER actors.

Region of intervention: Mediterranean

Beneficiary entity(s):
Università degli Studi di Pavia (coordination) 
Benaki Phytopathological Institute 
Aarhus Universitet 
Innova-Tech S.R.L. 
Institut National des Sciences et Industries du Vivant et de l’Environnement – AgroParisTech 
Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement 
Universidade Nova de Lisboa 
More – Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação – Associação 
Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas 
Solintagro SL 
Innovplantprotect – Associação 
Cook.Lab Lda 
Università Campus Bio Medico di Roma 
Università degli Studi di Firenze 
Geoponiko Panepistimion Athinon 
Universidad de Salamanca 
Nordiskt Genresurcenter 
Smart Agro Hub Anonymi Etairia 
White Research Srl 
Agri Obtention 
Agroland A.E. – Afoi Chr Katsi 
Instytut Uprawy Nawożenia i Gleboznawstwa, Państwowy Instytut Badawczy 
Asociația Eco Ruralis-In Sprijinul Fermierilor Ecologici si Traditionali 
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie 
Sfax University 
Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 
Euro-BioImaging ERIC

Date of approval: 13/12/2024
Start date: 01/09/2025
Completion date: 31/08/2029

Total eligible investment: €4,999,625.00
Eligible investment of MORE CoLAB: 211,000.00 €

The PROSPER project will provide sustainable technical solutions based on the valorization of neglected legumes (“orphan legumes” – OLs), with the following main objectives:

  • Promote diversification in agriculture, allowing farmers access to a wider range of selected cultivars and improve productivity in sub-optimal environments.
  • Diversify value chains, promoting a greater variety of products for the food industries, in a context of circular bio-economy.

Through a multi-actor approach (MAA), PROSPER will ensure that the real needs of end-users and stakeholders are considered as they will have an active role in co-creating the necessary solutions (techniques/products/services). PROSPER will be implemented in regions of the Mediterranean, Central and Northern Europe, covering different geographical areas and pedoclimatic conditions.

  • WP1 – Participatory engagement, social and community interactions
  • WP2 – Genetic material, breeding and performance evaluation
  • WP3 – Tools to promote the transition of agricultural systems
  • WP4 – Sustainability and resilience of OLs
  • WP5 – Promotion of LOs – Political and socio-economic instruments
  • WP6 – New products: extended appreciation of OLs
  • WP7 – Dissemination, exploration, communication and clustering activities
  • WP8 – Project management
  • Greater evidence of the environmental benefits of minority crops
  • Farmers benefit from a greater diversity of cultures and cultural combinations
  • Minority crops are integrated into agricultural systems, promoting their environmental benefits
  • Increased resilience and climate adaptation of agricultural systems to biotic and abiotic stress
  • The food and feed industries use minority crops
  • Creating new opportunities for farmers and value chains through greater product diversity