Grant

Plant Breeding – Funding (Future Foundation Agriculture)

The Seed Fund of the Future Foundation for Agriculture supports pioneering projects in organic and biodynamic seed breeding and breeding research. Applications for innovation projects can be submitted at any time; the decision on funding allocation is made once a year in January.

Environmental/Nature Protection

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Grant criteria

Application level: Advanced
Region: Germany (nationwide)
Only for non-profit organizations

Funding objective

The Seed Fund supports long-term breeding projects oriented towards ecological and biodynamic principles in the areas of vegetables, fruits, and arable crops. The goal is to develop high-quality, cultivable varieties and make them accessible to the public.

Eligible to apply

  • Non-profit Organizations

Funding requirements

  • Organization must be recognized under non-profit law
  • Breeding work must be conducted on ecologically or biodynamically managed land
  • Varieties must be made accessible to the public (no patenting)
  • Cooperative collaboration with other funded initiatives

Documents required for application

  1. Fully completed and signed application form
  2. Cost and financing plan
  3. Proof of non-profit status (exemption notice, not older than 3 years)
  4. Valid statutes
  5. Excerpt from the association register or commercial register (not older than 5 years)
  6. Annual financial statement or annual report of the last fiscal year

Evaluation criteria

  • Innovative content of the project
  • Ecological orientation of the breeding initiative
  • Cooperation capability and networking with other initiatives

Description

The Seed Fund of the Future Foundation for Agriculture supports non-profit initiatives, associations, and foundations throughout Germany in ecologically and biodynamically oriented breeding projects for vegetables, fruits, and arable crops. With annual awards granted by the trustees' committee in January, pioneering research and development projects are funded that aim to create robust, high-quality varieties and make them accessible to the public without patent restrictions. The fund supports not only traditional breeding approaches but also establishes a dedicated innovation corridor to assist new projects in their initial phase and integrate them into the regular funding framework in the long term.

Prerequisites for an application include a legal form recognized under non-profit law, proof of ecological cultivation methods, and cooperative collaboration with other funded breeding initiatives. The selection is made by the trustees' committee based on criteria such as innovation content, ecological orientation, and networking capability. Fully completed and signed application forms – including cost and financing plans, statutes, tax exemption certificate (no older than 3 years), register excerpt (no older than 5 years), and annual report – may be submitted at any time. Decisions for the funding year are made once annually in January; applications for innovation projects are also accepted on an ongoing basis.

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