On 19 August 2026, Daniel Köfer, State Secretary at the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, Viticulture, Forestry, Hunting and Local Heritage (HMLU), presented funding approval notices totalling around 6.62 million euros to 17 new ‘Innovation and Cooperation’ projects in Hesse. Representatives of the nine newly approved Operational Groups (OGs), the eight new consortia and the ‘Innovation and Cooperation’ project group gathered at the Jung farm in Pohlheim-Holzheim to attend the presentation of the funding notifications.
The funded projects cover a broad spectrum of topics within the agricultural and food sectors. Among other things, the projects focus on the use of artificial intelligence in viticulture, sustainable water use on livestock farms, new marketing approaches for orchard fruit, and innovative solutions in the field of poultry health. What these projects have in common is the collaboration between stakeholders from the fields of practice, science, consultancy, business and rural areas.
The projects now approved will fund nine new EIP-Agri projects as well as eight new consortia in the area of networks and cooperation. A total of around 6.62 million euros in funding from the European Union and the State of Hesse is available for the implementation of the projects.
The venue was chosen deliberately, as Hof Jung is itself a partner in the funded OG Mohnsorten. With this year’s grant award ceremony, 37 innovation and cooperation projects in Hesse are now being supported during the 2023–2027 funding period.
The IfLS has been supporting the implementation of the ‘Innovation and Cooperation’ funding scheme since 2015 in its capacity as a Hessian innovation service provider. On behalf of the HMLU, the IfLS supports Hessian Operational Groups and consortia in the development and implementation of their projects. Further information on the projects will be available shortly here.
Contact persons at IfLS: Svea Thietje, Hanna Kramer und Sophia Heinl (Eip-hessen[at]ifls.de)
