aniversário – InnovPlantProtect

NEWS

InPP joins BioLivingLABS project - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories

September 22, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News, Project
Ines Ferreira

InnovPlantProtect (InPP) recently received approval for an application submitted to COMPETE2030-2024-6 - Collective Actions - Transfer of scientific and technological knowledge - BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, Associação, in partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) and AQUAVALOR.

BioLivingLABS aims to promote the economic valorization of research and development (R&D) results obtained by various institutions in the North, Center and Alentejo. To this end, it will create an experimental demonstration network, the so-called Living Labs, The project will be held in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas. In addition, demonstration actions, workshops, an inland innovation catalog and training on intellectual property protection will be developed with the aim of encouraging the incorporation of innovative solutions in the business sectors of these regions.

Scheduled to begin in October and lasting 24 months, the project has a total eligible investment of over 740,000 euros, financed by COMPETE2030 - Thematic Program for Innovation and Digital Transition. For InPP, this project is a strategic opportunity to strengthen its mission as a center for technology development and transfer, boosting the practical application of scientific knowledge to promote sustainable development.

This initiative confirms InPP's commitment to open and sustainable innovation, integrating science, technology and regional development to respond to the challenges and potential of the interior of the country.

InPP took part in an Open Day dedicated to the cereals of Baixo Mondego

September 19, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News
Ines Ferreira

On September 18, the executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), António Saraiva, the director of the New Biopesticides Department, Cristina Azevedo, and researcher Luís Grilo attended the Open Day “The Cereals of Baixo Mondego”, promoted by the Centro Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Centro), at the Bico da Barca Experimental Unit in Montemor-o-Velho.

The event highlighted the latest innovations from the Coimbra Innovation Hub, from new technologies applied to maize and rice, to fertilization strategies, protection and the use of biostimulants on these key crops in the Baixo Mondego region.

Our team also monitored trials with biofungicides, including the product I21, developed with our collaborative laboratory to combat pyriculariosis in two rice varieties, which is being patented.

In an interview with Voice of the Countryside, Cristina Azevedo shared the work we have been doing in the area of biosolutions.

(Re)watch the interview here.

Image credits: InnovPlantProtect and Voz do Campo magazine

Maize in Portugal: phytosanitary challenges and new emerging threats

August 19, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News
Ines Ferreira

Maize continues to be the Portugal's most important arable crop, The sector has a significant impact on food safety and the national agri-food industry. Involving thousands of producers and generating tens of millions of euros a year, the sector is currently facing increasingly complex phytosanitary challenges.

Among already known pests and emerging diseases, there are risks ranging from cartridge caterpillar until Maize Rugose Dwarfism Virus (MRDV), The presence of this virus is increasing in Portugal. This virus, transmitted by the corn leafhopper, can seriously compromise production and is found in the climate change increasingly favorable conditions for its spread.

However, it's not just MRDV that's worrying. There are new threats that require vigilance, such as the coleopter Diabrotica virgifera or the MDMV virus (Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus), already detected in neighboring countries, and also toxic weeds, such as the winter fig (Datura stramonium), which in addition to impacting productivity pose public health risks.

Faced with this reality, the answer is integrated and sustainable strategies, matching:

crop rotation and good agricultural practices;
careful use of insecticides to avoid resistance and environmental impacts;
resistant or tolerant varieties, where available;
research and technological innovation, including new digital tools for early detection.

As the InnovPlantProtect researcher points out, Nuno Faria, in the article entitled “The main emerging pests and diseases of the maize crop in Portugal”, available in the August edition of Voz do Campo magazine: “The phytosanitary panorama of maize in Portugal requires continuous vigilance, investment in research and the application of integrated and sustainable strategies capable of responding to an increasingly dynamic and unpredictable reality.”

To find out more about the main current risks and mitigation measures, read the full article published in the August issue of Voz do Campo magazine (pages 88-89), available on newsstands and online.

EVENTS

Academics analyze higher education in Portugal

December 5, 2020
Latest
Ines Ferreira

Academic federations, rectors and university professors will “Reflect on the past and future of higher education assessment and accreditation in Portugal” at a conference to be held on December 18 in Lisbon. The CEO of InnovPlantProtect, Pedro Fevereiro, is one of those invited to present the development prospects and future challenges, based on a reflection of the last decade.

The conference “Reflecting on the past and future of the evaluation and accreditation of higher education in Portugal” will be held on December 18, between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m., at the Thalia Theatre in Lisbon. Organized and promoted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, in conjunction with the Board of Trustees of the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education, A3ES, this initiative aims to diagnose the state of higher education in Portugal and present measures for improvement that can be implemented in the near future.

Pedro Fevereiro, CEO of the InnovPlantProtect collaborative laboratory, was invited to a session to present the development prospects and future challenges for higher education assessment and accreditation in Portugal and Europe, based on a reflection of the last decade of higher education assessment and accreditation.

Preceded by the inauguration of the new Board of Directors of the Agency for the Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education (A3ES), the session will begin with an introduction by the Chairman of the A3ES Board of Trustees, Manuel Sobrinho Simões, with speeches by the outgoing Chairman of A3ES, Alberto Amaral, and the new Chairman, João Guerreiro. This will be followed by a debate with brief speeches by the presidents of academic federations and the presidents of the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP), the Coordinating Council of Polytechnic Higher Education Institutes (CCISP) and the Portuguese Association of Private Higher Education (APESP). Minister Manuel Heitor will close the session.

Although it will be held in person, subject to compliance with the rules in force defined by the health authorities, the conference will also be broadcast on the internet via the link: https://videocast.fccn.pt/live/sec-geral_mec/sdtroo. Prior registration is required at the following address: gabinete.mctes@mctes.gov.pt

Covid-19 dominates theme of EU Agricultural Outlook 2020 conference

December 3, 2020
Blog
Ines Ferreira

This year's edition will see speakers reflect on and analyze the lessons learned from the pandemic and the paths to a sustainable recovery. It will also be an opportunity to present and discuss the results of the prospective study on “The farmers of the future”.

The European Union's annual conference, “Agricultural Outlook 2020”, will be held on December 16 and 17, this time in an online format and with a reduced duration (two half days) due to the global situation related to the Covid-19 crisis.

Organized since 2014, these conferences have become successful meetings for establishing exchanges between interested parties on the market outlook, including the political framework and the uncertainties regarding the evolution of the market over the next ten years. They are held to coincide with the publication of the annual market outlook report.

See program e register to take part.

‘Green Deal Webinar Series’ debates new paradigms in the agri-food sector

November 26, 2020
Latest
Ines Ferreira

The “Green Deal Webinar Series”, promoted by high-tech Zenithwings, is back for another edition to highlight the opportunities of the European Commission's Green Deal strategy. The initiative - in this edition with a greater focus on the agri-food sector - aims to make national agents aware of the importance of channeling investments that contribute to a greater degree of environmental sustainability in their activities.

Webinar #2 of the Green Deal Webinar Series will take place online on December 2, starting at 10 a.m., with the theme “Farm to Work - New paradigms in the agri-food sector”, and will feature a specialized range of guests: Álvaro Amaro, MEP, Natacha Pinto, Executive Coordinator of InovCluster, Armando Alves, Researcher at the University of Aveiro and Carlos Oliveira, Head of Product at Zenithwings.

The general aim of this webinar is to explore the new challenges and opportunities of the Green Deal, with a focus on the agri-food sector. It will analyze the sector's current level of sustainability and what reforms are needed at the various points in the value chain, be it production, transformation, distribution, marketing or consumption.

The event also aims to encourage companies to adopt innovative technologies and solutions that bring sustainability to the sector, particularly those that contribute to greater clarity, monitoring and quantification of impacts. In this regard, Zenithwings' SmartAgriChain project will be particularly highlighted, as a web-based solution to support the certification of agri-food products and the monitoring of the entire sector.
the supply chain, supported by blockchain technology.

The Green Deal Webinar Series is aimed particularly at entrepreneurs and technical experts in the areas of Technology, Agriculture, Industry, Construction, Urban Planning and Environmental Services, policy makers, teachers, researchers, students, members and governing bodies of non-profit associations and environmental NGOs, but is open to the general public. Participation in this webinar is free of charge and requires compulsory registration.

News & Events