Roullier Endowment Fund Research Projects

Grants to support research projects concerning sustainable and efficient agriculture, with a particular focus on improving the quality of agricultural soils.

The Fonds de Dotation Roullier (Roullier Endowment Fund) was established in 2016 with the aim of researching, promoting and encouraging sustainable agriculture in France and internationally. By integrating the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) associated with agriculture into the selection of each of its research projects and the events it organises, the Fund contributes to the transition to sustainable agricultural systems.

The Roullier Endowment Fund’s call for projects, Soil Research 2026-29: Towards Better Understanding and Sustainable Management of Soil: Ecosystem Services and Innovations, forms part of the Fund’s mission to support sustainable and efficient agriculture, with a particular focus on improving the quality of agricultural soils. The aim of this call for projects is to encourage ambitious, innovative, multi-partner projects of general interest, both in France and internationally, by providing substantial financial support to initiatives on the following topics:

• Ecosystem services provided by soils in agricultural landscapes – this topic may overlap with several disciplines such as ecology, pedology, sociology, economics, law, agronomy, etc. Soil ecosystem services are classified into four categories: provisioning services; regulatory services; cultural services; supporting or self maintaining services. Projects may, for example, focus on the assessment/enhancement of these services; the synergies and conflicts between these services; conflicting uses and soil governance, etc.
• Innovations for soil quality – this topic may concern precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, biology, etc. Disruptive solutions are anticipated rather than continuity solutions.