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 12th National Meeting on Integrated Protection (ENPI), promoted by the Escola Superior Agrária de Elvas (ESAE) of the Instituto Politécnico de Portalegre (IPP), which took place on October 30 and 31, 2023.
The director of the New Biopesticides department, Cristina Azevedo, was one of the guest speakers at session 4 entitled “Towards new bio-based solutions to control plant diseases”.
With the motto “Integrated Protection's Contribution to the SDGs”, the meeting aimed to bring together experts from research, teaching and production, as well as young students interested in the protection of plants and plant products, to analyze, share knowledge, propose and debate innovative ideas and techniques for protecting crops and agricultural products.
The ENPI addressed four main thematic areas such as “Crop protection in the context of climate change and globalization”, “Recovering the concepts of “Risk estimation” and “Decision making” in the context of emerging problems”, “Plant defence mechanisms” and “Alternative means of protection”.
The 13th edition of ENPI will take place in 2026 in Madeira and will be organized by the University of Madeira.
On October 23 and 25, the third and final field activity of the ABC - AgriBioCircular project, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), took place at the Figueira de Cima estate, owned by Reynolds Wine Growers. This activity was entirely dedicated to the olive grove and the main sampling techniques for its main pests, the olive fly (Batrocera oleae) and the olive moth (Prays oleae). This activity was designed to give students the ability to identify and experiment with traditional techniques and new technologies in pest sampling, as well as new digital tools for monitoring and managing pests. The content presented focused on the importance of monitoring and controlling pests with a view to the sustainability of agricultural production systems from an environmental, social and economic perspective.
During this visit, the students were shown the life cycles of the olive fly and the olive moth, explaining in detail the links with meteorological variables and crop management options, with a view to more effective and sustainable pest control, focusing in particular on the importance of maintaining the biological richness of the pasture under the traditional olive grove. In addition, the students were invited to compare the specificities and potential of different sampling techniques in combination with attractive substances such as pheromones.
The students were also introduced to the morphology of the fly and the moth, and challenged to revisit the taxonomic identification of the groups to which they belonged, as well as to identify the pests in the traps and potential biological control organisms such as small wasps (parasitoids) or spiders. Understanding the life cycles, damage caused and control strategies of these pests is essential for developing effective pest control alternatives and sustainable agriculture with a low environmental impact. The students were able to count olive flies in both the adult stage in the chromotropic traps (with pheromone) and in the remaining stages of the cycle inside the olives, and showed an interest in and ability to identify these pests and diagnose the associated symptoms/damage. The visit to the Reynolds estate also included an approach to the use of entomological shrimp traps to monitor pests, potential disease vectors and auxiliary fauna in the olive grove.
Still on the subject of pest monitoring, the students had access to the new digital tools for monitoring and managing olive groves. We're talking specifically about the information obtained from the automatic traps and the associated software, which allows visualization, real-time interaction and cross-referencing of biological and meteorological information, as well as calculating risk estimates for olive fly attacks. Finally, in a short lecture aimed at the students, estate manager Nelson Martins explained the principles of sustainable wine production, focusing on the importance of the circular economy and, in particular, the recycling of materials in the various stages of wine production, such as the reuse of oak barrels to produce different types of wine, or identifying the agro-ecological techniques that contribute to increasing the quality and uniqueness of the wines produced on the estate and their connection with the microorganisms responsible for the fermentation process (yeasts).
In conclusion, the ABC project sought to encourage learning about sustainable practices in agriculture, boosting their future use in the students' professional activities.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the second Dried Fruit Campaign Review, organized by Portugal Nuts - Associação de Promoção de Frutos Secos, in partnership with the Centro Nacional de Competências dos Frutos Secos (CNCFS) and the National Horticultural Operational and Technological Center (COTHN), which took place on October 26 at the Events Pavilion of the Fair and Exhibition Park in Borba.
The initiative aimed to evaluate the performance of the dried fruit production campaign in the country and to be a moment for producers to exchange experiences and deepen their technical knowledge.
During the morning, participants were able to make technical visits to two farms - Maned and De Prado, and in the afternoon there were several round tables on the campaign, markets and another dedicated to plant health in almonds and walnuts, and three technical presentations, which were attended by several well-known spokespeople in the sector.
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