InPP is one of the partners in an 8.3 million European project to reduce 50% chemicals in viticulture

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) is taking part in a European project, coordinated by the University of Minho (UMinho), which aims to create nanobiopesticides and nanobiofertilizers to combat pests in viticulture, protecting the environment, increasing production, reducing costs and tackling climate change. The project is called VINNY, brings together 19 partners from ten countries and will receive 8.3 million euros over the next four years from the Horizon Europe program. The European Union is the world's largest wine producer and is therefore looking to invest in ecological and economically sustainable production based on Portuguese know-how.

The VINNY kick-off meeting took place on July 25 and 26 in Porto and the Douro wine region, in an experimental field at Quinta do Pôpa, and was attended by InPP, represented by the directors of the New Biopesticides and Specific Crop Protection departments Cristina Azevedo and Sandra Correia. Moving from intensive to sustainable viticulture on a global scale and cutting agrochemicals in the sector by 50% are the main objectives of the consortium led by Margarida Fernandes, from the Center for Microelectromechanical Systems (CMEMS) at UMinho's School of Engineering.

The kick-off meeting of the VINNY project brought together all the partners in Porto and the Douro wine region

“We're going to study the microbiomes of vineyards in Portugal, Spain, Austria and Denmark to create potent cocktails with antifungal and plant protection profiles which, through nanoencapsulation and stimulation, will be more stable and effective. We're also going to create biofertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium based on by-products from the meat industry and wastewater treatment,” he explains. The project will also propose agrotextiles impregnated with these nanobiofertilizers, as well as testing their efficiency, efficacy and safety in the laboratory, in pilot areas and in the field.

VINNY is expected to give rise to several projects in co-promotion with companies and associations. The project also has a social aspect, establishing the “European Vineyard Network” made up of three Living Labs and a Lighthouse to disseminate sustainable practices to farmers and organizations in the area, thus boosting innovation and sustainability in the primary sector.

At a national level, in addition to InPP, the consortium includes CMEMS (which is joined by the Center for Biological Engineering, as part of the associated laboratory LABBELS), the Center for Molecular and Environmental Biology, all from UMinho, as well as ADVID - Cluster da Vinha e do Vinho, and the communication agency LKCOM. At European level, it brings together five universities, eleven companies and three associations from ten countries. VINNY stands for “Advanced nano encapsulation of bio-based pesticides and fertilizers for a circular and sustainable viticulture”.