O InnovPlantProtect (InPP) promotes the seminar “Six years of innovation: The path of CoLABs for the future of the agricultural and agri-food sectors”, on the next day June 11th, from 09h30 until 11h00, in center stage at Espaço InsectERA, located in the Central Cloisters of the National Center for Agricultural Exhibitions and Markets (CNEMA) in Santarém.
The seminar aims to present the practical results and real impact of six Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs) in Portugal - InnovPlantProtect, Colab4Food, FeedInov, Food4Sustainability, MORE and SmartFarmCoLAB. These interface infrastructures are essential pillars of the National Innovation System (SNI) and play a growing and essential role in the dynamics of innovation for agriculture and agri-food.
The event will be attended by members of the teams and partners of each of the CoLABs, who will talk about their vision of the added value of these interface and innovation entities, from the point of view of those who collaborate directly with them.
The initiative, which is part of the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) 2025, which this year has the theme “Biosolutions” and will be the stage for exploring the innovations that are shaping the future of the sector, brings together different representatives of the innovation ecosystem to show the role of CoLABs in stimulating the transfer of knowledge and making innovation available to agriculture and agri-food in Portugal, creating value and attracting highly qualified human resources to the country.
See the full program in the image below.
The registration for the event is free, but mandatory due to the limited capacity of the space. Guarantee your presence by filling in the available form here.
We look forward to welcoming you for a morning of sharing and debate on the future of innovation in the agricultural and agri-food sectors!
Estamos em contagem decrescente para a Feira Nacional de Agricultura (FNA), uma das maiores feiras agrícolas do país!
É já de 7 a 15 de junho que o InPP vai estar na 61ª edição da Feira Nacional de Agricultura, que se realiza no CNEMA – Centro Nacional de Exposições, em Santarém.
O tema da edição deste ano é “Biosoluções”e pretende destacar a importância das soluções e tecnologias inovadoras no setor agroalimentar e na promoção de práticas mais sustentáveis e eficientes.
A FNA reúne agricultores, empresários e especialistas dos setores agroalimentar, pecuário e agrícola e é um excelente espaço para aumentar a nossa rede de contactos, trocar conhecimentos e apresentar as mais recentes tendências e soluções agrícolas que a nossa equipa tem desenvolvido.
Vai poder encontrar-nos no stand nº.18, à entrada do Espaço dos claustros, dedicado à Agenda InsectERA, entre as 10h e as 20h.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the National Olive Growing Fair (FNO 25) in Campo Maior, from May 23 to 25, presenting its latest biological and digital innovations for crop protection, including projects focused on biopesticides for olive diseases and early detection of fungi that cause gafa, and monitoring insect vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, which attacks olive groves. The Elvas CoLAB was present with its own stand to demonstrate its strengths and the impact of its research on agricultural sustainability, inviting producers, technicians and researchers to learn about its innovative bio-based and digital solutions and to actively participate in the discussion of the sector's challenges.
The collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) welcomed visitors at the stand no. 14, located at thematic area at the Campo Maior Municipal Garden, to showcase their activity, the ongoing projects that are developing solutions to the main olive diseases, the patents already submitted, the apps for agricultural management and the bio-based and digital products and services they have to offer the agricultural sector and the market. Throughout the three days of the fair, some of InPP's researchers were at the stand to demonstrate to visitors the various features of the Elvas CoLAB, which has been developing innovation that it hopes will contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems.
InPP announced ValorCannBio project, which is processing biomass that is not used in the medical cannabis industry to develop effective and sustainable biopesticides against gafa and tuberculosis, The project will be carried out in the municipality of Elvas, which is responsible for decimating entire harvests, leading to severe economic losses and compromising food quality. The impact of this project will be felt in the municipality of Elvas, where the project is being developed, but it is expected that it will extend to the entire olive-growing region from Trás-os-Montes to the Algarve, where production losses are increasing due to these diseases. O AlViGen project was also one of the protagonists and is using cutting-edge technology to detecting and identifying the strains of fungi that cause gafa, long before the symptoms become visible. The project team has used traps to collect spores that circulate in the air to monitor the presence of fungi, which can give farmers an important advantage in preventing infections and protecting their crops, reducing production losses.
O SNM_XylellaVt project, The SNM_XylellaVt project, led by DRAPCENTRO and in which InPP actively participates, was also highlighted at FNO. SNM_XylellaVt is monitor the insect vectors of the bacteria Xyllela fastidiosa, in particular the foam leafhopper, the insect responsible for transmitting the bacterium, which attacks various agricultural and forestry crops, and in particular olive groves. The project team is developing new tools, such as risk prediction models which, in the presence of the bacterium, whether in plants or insect vectors, will allow the National Agricultural Warning Service (SNAA) to alert, in real time, about the economic attack levels (EAL) for these insects, thus allowing prevent infection of the main crops. As part of this project, the team has also developed an online platform where citizens can report the sighting of foams, which are signs of the presence of the insect vectors of X. fastidiosa, This will help to map its temporal and spatial distribution and to plan measures to combat this bacterium.
The FNO, organized jointly by the Campo Maior City Council and the Centre for the Study and Promotion of Olive Oil in the Alentejo (CEPAAL), is an event that aims to enhance national olive growing, and in particular Portuguese olive oil, boosting the local economy and bringing together professionals from the sector - producers, technicians, or researchers - from all over the country to discuss challenges and trends in the Portuguese olive and olive oil sector.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the “III Colloquium on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides - What Future?”, which was held on May 24 at the Santarem Polytechnic Institute's Santarém Higher Agricultural School (ESAS).
The colloquium, organized by the Portuguese Horticultural Association, the National Horticultural Operational and Technological Centre (COTHN) and ESAS, aimed to provide policymakers with a current picture of the agricultural sector and the legislation, innovation, difficulties, opportunities and needs of crop protection.
The promoters organized the Colloquium at an opportune moment, following the European Commission's decision last February not to proceed with the revision of the Directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides, but in which the goals and ambition of the European Green Deal are maintained.
Portugal is the country in the European Union with the second highest rate of reduction in pesticide use and 10% of authorized plant protection products are biopesticides.
The round-table event brought together speakers from agricultural confederations, associations representing agricultural sub-sectors, universities, public and private laboratories, the Ministry of Agriculture, MPs and MEPs.
Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of InPP, was one of the speakers on the panel “Session II - What is the future?”, which took place between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. and included the deputy director of the Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV), Paula Cruz Garcia, the president of CropLife Portugal, Felisbela Campos, Cristina Carlos from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Social Democratic Party MP Emília Cerqueira, chair of the Assembly of the Republic's Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, and João Frazão, a member of the Portuguese Communist Party's political committee. The moderator was João Baptista, a journalist from the newspaper Mais Ribatejo.
Last Wednesday morning, May 15, another Farmers“ Day was held at the Innovation Hub in Elvas, under the motto ”Challenges and opportunities for the sustainable intensification of agriculture", which was attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at this event, promoted by the National Institute for Agrarian and Veterinary Research (INIAV, IP), a founding member of InPP, which aimed to promote the dynamics of innovation that result in the valorization of national production and also in people settling in the territories.
The initiative kicked off with a speech by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, who highlighted the importance of the agricultural sector, stressing that “Agriculture is much more than numbers and GDP. It's territorial cohesion, it's landscape, it's culture, it's gastronomy, it's tourism”, and he also listed as priority areas for action the improvement of farmers' incomes, the attraction of younger people and the link with academia and research, which must be based on a perspective of territorial cohesion.
This was followed by a round table on “Territory, Capacity Building, Research and Innovation”, moderated by José Palha, representing the CerealTech Competence Center, and with the participation of Nuno Canada, President of INIAV, Paulo Fernandes, Mayor of Fundão, Bernardo Albino, Vice-President of the National Association of Protein, Oilseed and Cereal Producers (ANPOC) and João Madeira, from the Extensive Grazing Competence Center.
The round table concluded with the presentation of the Cereais do Alentejo range of products, a registered trademark of ANPOC which, like the Fundão Cherry, aims to enhance national cereal production; and with the launch of the technical guide “Cereais Praganosos - A Produtividade e a Qualidade Constroem-se”, a manual that results from the compilation of the most relevant knowledge transmitted over the years in the Technical Training for Autumn/Winter Cereal Production, jointly promoted by ANPOC, INIAV and the Polytechnic Institute of Beja since 2016.
Congratulations to INIAV for the initiative!
Farmers' Day is an annual initiative that brings together hundreds of farmers and companies in the sector.
Today, May 16, is National Scientists' Day in Portugal and InnovPlantProtect (InPP) has issued a challenge to its scientists - to record their day-to-day lives in the Collaborative Lab. InPP promoted a photo competition open to its entire community who submitted photos showing a little of what their day-to-day life as scientists is like.
The team then chose the three best photos through an internal voting process and today opened the voting to the online community on the institutional social networks so that they can choose who the big winner is.
To choose your favorite photo, all you have to do is vote in the poll that we will be launching on the social networks LinkedIn and Facebook from 2pm, and which will be available until the end of today.
Congratulations to researchers Maria Miguel, Francisca Rodrigues and Francesca Messina, authors of the photos below. Thanks to all the participants for the fantastic photos submitted!
We wish a Happy National Scientist Day to all our scientists and researchers who dedicate their lives to curiosity, to trying to understand how the world works, and who are increasingly concerned about sharing this knowledge with others. Together we all contribute to building the future!
National Scientists' Day was established in 2016 and aims to recognize the contribution of the scientific community to the advancement of knowledge, progress and the well-being of society.
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