It's called PROSPER and it's a new European project that aims to transform European agriculture through the valorization of “orphan” legumes - resistant crops, little exploited, but with great potential to face the challenges of climate and food in the future.
The consortium, with total funding of around 5 million euros, brings together 27 partners from 13 European countries and Tunisia, including universities, research centers, companies and non-profit organizations in the agricultural sector. Among them are countries from the Mediterranean (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and France), Central Europe (Germany, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania), Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden and Finland).
The aim of PROSPER is to test and validate new agricultural diversification strategies, adapted to different climates and social and economic contexts, promoting more sustainable, innovative practices that are adjusted to the needs of different agricultural realities.
InPP, PROSPER's partner, will be responsible for analyzing:
Soil health and environmental impact
Energy efficiency and waste management
Nutritional quality of crops
Fair valuation along the production chain
To do this, the InPP team will use advanced technologies, such as real-time sensors and geospatial analysis, which will help study soil health, carbon sequestration captured by crops, water management and biodiversity, among others.
PROSPER is co-created with the main players in the agricultural sector, ensuring that the solutions developed do not remain on paper: they will be practical, useful and transformative.
The project starts in September 2025. We are ready to embark on this journey towards a greener, fairer and more resilient agriculture.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the Science 2025 Meeting in Lisbon, at the Nova SBE Campus, to take part in the parallel session “Crop Protection for One Health, and Food and Environmental Sustainability”.
The Encontro Ciência took place from July 9 to 11 at the NOVA SBE Campus in Carcavelos, with the motto “Science, Innovation and Society”. Portugal's largest science and technology meeting was the stage for promoting and discussing the scientific, social, cultural and economic impact of research in Portugal, exploring the intersection between science, innovation and society, to inspire new ideas and foster transformative collaborations.
The director of the Data Management and Risk Analysis Department, Ricardo Ramiro, and the director of the New Biopesticides Department, Cristina Azevedo, presented some of the results of their work in this session co-moderated by the executive director, António Saraiva.
During the session, two important solutions for the agricultural sector, developed by our team, were presented:
iCountPests - an innovative app that uses AI to detect and count pests accurately and quickly in photos of chromotropic traps.
InPP 2 - a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of fighting Botrytis cinerea, the fungus responsible for gray rot in tomatoes.
CoLAB MORE Colab - Collaborative Mountain Research Laboratory and Sfcolab - Collaborative Laboratory for Digital Innovation in Agriculture, were also present at the parallel session, as well as GREEN-IT, to discuss how science and innovation can tackle the challenges of climate change and promote more sustainable agricultural systems.
On June 30, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the meeting “7 years of CoLABs: impacts and perspectives”, which brought together political decision-makers, experts from the Portuguese innovation ecosystem, leaders from different sectors, representatives of public and private entities and the representatives of the 41 Collaborative Laboratories (CoLAB), at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon.
The meeting, organized by the Forum of Collaborative Laboratories (FCoLAB), aimed to reflect on the impact of the work carried out by the different CoLABs over the last seven years, as well as to address future prospects and identify strategies to boost the contribution of scientific research and innovation to the economy and society.
This initiative was an opportunity to showcase the products, services and solutions developed by CoLAB over the last seven years, highlighting its contribution to innovation, competitiveness and sustainability in various sectors of the economy. The application recently launched by InPP, iCountPests, which allows pests to be counted automatically using images from traps, reducing the time invested in monitoring and making it possible to create a pest history, was also highlighted.
The event was attended by the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, the Secretary of State for the Economy, João Rui Ferreira, Manuel Heitor, from the IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research and former Minister of Science and Innovation, António Grilo, President of ANI, among others.
In his speech, the Minister for Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, highlighted the purpose of science at national level: “We hope that the science created in Portugal will generate innovation. More than technology, innovation is the answer to society's problems. You are the agents of change!”.
During the session, the main activity indicators and proven impact of the first seven years of CoLABs' activity were also presented, and multisectoral perspectives on their role in the national science and innovation ecosystem were debated, focusing on topics such as socio-economic impact, internationalization, business competitiveness, technological innovation and sustainability.
The activity indicators and the impact of the 7 years of activity are as follows:
More than 260 projects approved
More than 1,300 qualified jobs created
19M€ in tax revenue generated
More than 900 interactions with companies
33 patent applications (10 granted)
680 scientific articles published
The two afternoon panels were attended by companies, partners and management entities, who reflected on the impact generated so far and presented proposals for maximizing CoLAB's long-term contribution to both the economy and Portuguese society.
At a time when the basic funding options for CoLABs are being discussed, this event is of the utmost importance. The area of crop protection, in particular, needs more investment in innovation. Holding this event was important for bringing this urgent and strategically important issue to the debate.
The InPP was also present in the exhibition area, receiving important visitors, including the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, the Secretary of State for the Economy, João Rui Ferreira, the Secretary of State for Science and Innovation, Helena Canhão, the President of the FCT, Madalena Alves, the President of the National Innovation Agency, António Grilo, the President of the National Monitoring Committee for the RRP, Pedro Dominguinhos and the Executive Director of Ciência Viva, Ana Noronha.
MASSA - Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Modernization and Food Security is one of the priority CAIS of the South Campus and is based at the Elvas CoLAB.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) is the headquarters of one of the three priority centers for applied knowledge and innovation of the recently created South Campus, This consortium brings together the University of Évora (UÉ), NOVA University Lisbon and the University of the Algarve. NOVA and UÉ are members of the collaborative laboratory (CoLAB).
The Centers of Applied Knowledge and Innovation for Sustainability (CAIS) focus on designing “innovative solutions in specific areas of sustainable development in the South, based on existing infrastructures,” explain the consortium's leaders. The specific objective of MASS CAISES - The Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Modernization and Food Security, based at the InPP in Elvas, aims to “promote agriculture based on a sustainable model, aligned with the principles of the circular economy and the eco-economy (...), contributing to the development and cohesion of the territories of the Iberian South and Interior”.
Innovation applied to agricultural production, the valorization of endogenous natural resources, the promotion of the Mediterranean diet and the training of human resources in the area of sustainable agriculture are the main thematic lines of action. The strategic partners of this CAIS include local authorities, CCDRs (Algarve, Alentejo, Lisbon), the Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV, also an InPP associate), Bayer Crop Science, Syngenta Crop Protection (both InPP associates), the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, the Fraunhofer Institute and the Association of Young Farmers of Portugal (AJAP), as well as other academic partners at Iberian and international level.
The South Campus - Interuniversity Association of the South was presented was publicly announced on December 22, 2021, in the Auditorium of the Colégio do Espírito Santo at the University of Évora. InPP's executive director was one of the speakers at the afternoon session (Science Day@South). Pedro Fevereiro spoke on the panel “Earth Research and Social Innovation”, with a presentation entitled “Innovative Bio-based Solutions for Crop Protection”.
Read more on the Innovation component of the South Campus and on the priority CAIS, including MASSA.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) would like to wish the entire team, Associates and partners Happy Holidays by sharing the Christmas Tree set up by CoLAB's newly created sustainability team, InPP Greeners.
The maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) was purchased locally from the Elvas Volunteer Fire Brigade for a symbolic price, helping to raise funds for the organization, which collects the trees for the benefit of the Serra de São Mamede forest.
It is decorated with repurposed laboratory materials, including reused paper ribbons and recycled cardboard balls.
The Elvas Volunteer Fire Brigade is selling the pine trees at a symbolic price of €5 and €10. The maritime pine is widely used in Portugal as a Christmas tree. Plastic, paper and cardboard, among other materials, were reused in the decorations.
InnovPlantProtect is participating in three ideas that applied to the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) measure “Mobilizing Agendas for Business Innovation - Proposals for the Economy of the Future”, which have been selected to move on to phase two of the process: InsectERA, the Blue Bioeconomy Pact and OesteFruta 4.0.
OesteFruta 4.0 is a mobilizing agenda for fruit growing in the West. The aim is to provide the region and the sector with tools that will enable them to face current and future challenges, with a focus on the Rocha pear and the Alcobaça apple. The consortium is led by Atlantic Portuguese Apple - Clube da Maçã and the idea, presented on Friday in Leixões by Armando Torres Paulo, corresponds to a total investment of €97 million.
The public session to present the Mobilizing Agendas took place on December 2nd and 3rd at the Port of Leixões Cruise Terminal. At the day 3 Daniel Murta, CEO of Ingredient Odyssey, and Tiago Pitta e Cunha, representing Inovamar, which is leading the Blue Bioeconomy Pact. This idea, which corresponds to a total investment of €220 million, aims to reindustrialize the blue bioeconomy by creating new economic models based on the use of marine bio-resources, as well as creating the first blue bioeconomy in the world. hub european blue bioeconomy.
The InsectERA agenda, which involves a total investment of €57 million, aims to apply circular economy concepts to the insect industry. The idea is to return by-products from the agro-industry, and some agricultural and urban waste, to the value chain in the form of nutritional solutions for people, animals and plants, as well as new industrial solutions, from cosmetics to bioplastics.
The information is public and can be consulted on the from IAPMEI.
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