The executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), António Saraiva, took part in the conference “What are the challenges facing the national agroforestry sector over the next decade?”, which took place at the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC) of the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra last Tuesday, April 22.
The event, which brought together more than 150 participants and was organized by 17 national Competence Centres, discussed topics such as innovation, sustainability, soil conservation, monitoring cork oak forests and efficient agricultural management.
António Saraiva was part of the panel of commentators, whose speaker was Pedro Santos, Director General of CONSULAI, and moderated by Maria Custódia Correia, Coordinator of the AKIS Portugal Network. The opening session was attended by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, who announced the publication of the Ordinance of April 21 to open the Grant for Initiatives for the creation of Operational Groups (OG).
This initiative provides a total of 11 million euros for new GOs, with a maximum of 350,000 euros per project and eligible funding of 100%.
The GOs are considered crucial structures for transferring knowledge and strengthening the AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System).
Special thanks to the 17 Competence Centers for the opportunity to participate in this productive meeting!
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the path to success, organizations define strategies, plan each step, and invest in crucial resources such as the sale of services and products, project applications, the development of solid business plans, and the protection of intellectual property. However, there is an often-neglected element that is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force, and why is it so vital to advancing agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity lies in the art of finding something valuable when looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather of a fortuitous encounter with the unknown. Although deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often come across revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies, and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at the “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from the InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose insight transformed a fortuitous event into a discovery of inestimable value: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray mold disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the greatest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if not controlled in a timely manner.
From discard to discovery: An investigator's insight
The journey of this discovery began in a scenario familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cell or microorganism cultures. In Maria Miguel's Petri dishes, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her attention: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear zone surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and ignoring it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind that clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that within a failure, there can be something good,” shares the researcher. The emotion and enthusiasm of a researcher when realizing that what at first seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, can actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “error” transformed into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at the InPP's Department of New Biopesticides, transformed an unexpected event into a groundbreaking discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray mold in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the story of this biofungicide demonstrates, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that arose from the unexpected. One of the most famous cases is the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated Staphylococcus aureus bacteria around it. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important drug for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove that we are right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, a solid scientific knowledge, and the ability to see and advance to further investigations on surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The ecosystem of discovery: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions, or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas under a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territories without fear of failure, thus increasing the odds of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. Maria Miguel's discovery is a testament to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research.”
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that stimulates open discussions and connects people from diverse areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes a relentless pursuit of improving scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, driven by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral fellowship - a program that supports the career of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her innovative discovery is opening new and promising doors for future research in the area of crop protection, demonstrating how, at times, it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the road to success, organizations define strategies, plan every step and invest in crucial resources such as selling services and products, applying for projects, drawing up solid business plans and protecting intellectual property. However, there is an element that is often overlooked, but which is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force and why is it so vital to the advancement of agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity is the art of finding something valuable when you're looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather a chance encounter with the unknown. While deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often stumble upon revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose acumen turned a chance event into a priceless discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating the Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray rot disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the biggest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if it is not controlled in good time.
From discard to discovery: The insight of a researcher
The journey of this discovery began in a setting familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cultures of cells or microorganisms. On Maria Miguel's plates, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her eye: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear area surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and dismissing it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind the clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to prevent the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that in a failure there can be something good,” the researcher shares. The excitement and enthusiasm of a researcher realizing that what at first glance seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, could actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “mistake” turned into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at InPP's New Biopesticides Department, who turned an unexpected event into a discovery that changed the course of her work: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray rot in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the history of this biofungicide shows, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that came out of the blue. One of the most famous cases is Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated bacteria Staphylococcus aureus around him. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important medicine for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove ourselves right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, solid scientific knowledge and the ability to see and move on to further research into surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The discovery ecosystem: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas in a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territory without the fear of failure, thus increasing the chances of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. The case of Maria Miguel's discovery is testimony to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research”.
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that encourages open discussions and connects people from different areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes an incessant quest to improve scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, boosted by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD scholarship - a program that supports the careers of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her groundbreaking discovery is opening promising new doors for future research in the field of crop protection, demonstrating how sometimes it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
Last Monday, November 27, the closing session of the ABC project took place in the auditorium of the Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas (ESAE) of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, a project led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP) and financed by the Environmental Fund under the National Environmental Education Strategy 2020 program. The aim of the event was to give the students a voice, in different formats (posters, videos and others) that portrayed the themes that were developed during the project: sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, ecosystem services, citizen science and the circular economy. Rádio Elvas was invited to the event, as was Councillor Hermenegildo Rodrigues, representing Elvas Municipal Council. The opening session of the event was attended by the Director of ESAE, Rute Guedes dos Santos.
The InPP team began by presenting a summary of the event's program in multimedia format (“flash news”: ABC news). This was followed by a video summarizing the activities carried out during the last year of the project, both in the classroom and in the field, namely at the Reynolds Wine Growers estate in Arronches. Next, a group of students and teachers were interviewed in order to hear directly from them how they experienced the ABC project and what it meant to them. The ABC news continued with presentations of the students' work, in various formats, on the project's themes. We started with specific work on endophytic microorganisms, where an ESAE student, Henrique Canha, had the opportunity to do his internship and explained how microbiology can be used to help farmers.
The next moment was dedicated to the theme of the circular economy. The students presented four videos in interview format, aimed at various groups in our society (students, teachers, environmentalists, technicians and farmers), focusing mainly on the importance of the circular economy, but not only. There was also time to read a letter encouraging circular economy practices, written by the students of the D. Sancho II Secondary School and addressed to the Mayor of Elvas, Comendador Rondão de Almeida. Councillor Hermenegildo Rodrigues had the opportunity to respond to the letter and to inform the audience about current circular economy practices and those planned for the near future in the Municipality of Elvas.
Another of the topics covered was ecosystem services in vineyards. The students decided to present this topic in the form of a scientific poster. In this space, the student authors were interviewed about various topics in vineyard agroecology and the different types of benefits (services) that can be obtained with this approach. The next panel, in video format and entirely coordinated by ESAE students, was dedicated to microbiome activities, with testimonies from Nélson Martins, farm manager at Reynolds Wine Growers, higher education students and researchers on the current relevance of agricultural management based on improving the soil microbiome.
The event continued with a surprise theatrical performance by a group of students from the D. Sancho II Secondary School. In this short play, the students acted out an argument between three actors from our rural environment (farmer, citizen and scientist) on the subject of organic farming vs. conventional farming. For the originality and audacity of the actors, this activity was awarded a prize by the project team. The event ended with the screening of a video on citizen science prepared by a group of students from the D. Sancho II Secondary School. The project team considered this video elaborate and surprising, and it was also awarded a prize.
The ABC project leaves behind an educational program that established a collaboration between InPP and the local school and which helped students become aware of the tools they have at their disposal to promote biodiversity in agriculture, participate in a citizen science project, embrace the circular economy, understand the value of natural resources and the types of ecosystem services they provide.
Poster promoting the final event of the ABC - AgriBioCircular project
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the 6th edition of NOVA Science & Innovation Day, promoted by NOVA University Lisbon, at the Rectory facilities on the Campolide Campus in Lisbon, on November 21st.
NOVA Science & Innovation Day aimed to showcase the science, research and innovation of excellence at the University and was a unique opportunity for the academic community, as well as the general public, to get to know the scientific work carried out at NOVA University Lisbon and how it translates into innovation and the creation of value for society.
Throughout the day, an Innovation Fair was also held in the Rectory atrium, as part of the initiative. Visitors to the Fair had the opportunity to learn about the collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) and what it is already doing for crop protection and pest and disease prevention, with a highly qualified team and very broad and diverse skills.
Other CoLABs, proprietary technologies and specialized services were also represented at the Innovation Fair, Spin-offs and other companies in the University's ecosystem.
NOVA Science & Innovation Day was a unique opportunity for the academic community and the public to get a closer look at the work of excellence carried out at NOVA University Lisbon, and how it translates into innovation and the creation of value for society.
1st photo - InPP stand at NOVA Science & Innovation Day. 2nd and 3rd photos - Inês Ferreira, InPP's communications manager, on the right, representing InPP
NOVA Science & Innovation Day took place at the Rectory of NOVA University Lisbon
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was in Lisbon on November 16 for the 4th Annual Meeting of Collaborative Laboratories (CoLAB), organized by the National Innovation Agency (ANI), which aimed to promote and monitor the activities and progressive evolution of the 41 currently recognized CoLABs, as well as their development in the context of regional, national and European research and innovation strategies.
The meeting, on the theme of “Innovation and Technological Valorization towards the Sustainable Development Goals”, brought together the CoLABs and some of the main players in the National Scientific and Technological System to participate in a discussion on the role of Research and Technology in addressing the SDGs, which was attended by some CoLABs, namely members of the BUILT CoLAB, from ForestWISE and DTX, They shared some of the best practices and success stories from their CoLABs. The moderator was Inês Sequeira, from Impact House.
Afterwards, the CoLAB had the opportunity to learn more about “Sustainable Funding Opportunities”, with the active presence of members of the European Commission, from the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Alentejo), the Mobilizing Agenda ILLIANCE, from the Mobilizing Agenda InsectERA - the ERA of insects, and ANI, as well as listening to the International Keynote, Jerry Sheehan, Director for Science, Technology, and Innovation, from OECD.
In the afternoon, CoLAB members had the opportunity to take part in a more practical activity, through a workshop that aimed to maximize the impact of the brand through collaboration. The annual CoLAB report was another of the topics covered.
This was an excellent opportunity to discuss how these entities can collaboratively contribute to solving the main challenges and most pressing issues of our time, putting innovation and knowledge at the service of society. It was also a moment to share good practices and exchange experiences.
Find out more about the event on the ANI website here.
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