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.
On June 11th, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) held a seminar on “Six years of innovation: CoLABs” path to the future of the agricultural and agri-food sectors", at the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) in Santarém.
The event brought together, for the first time, six Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs) with direct involvement in the agricultural and agri-food sectors: InnovPlantProtect, CoLAB4Food, FeedInov CoLAB, Food4Sustainability, MORE CoLAB and SmartFarmCoLAB.
Round table 1 - Sofia Couto (ANI), Paulo Madeira (InPP), André Mota (Colab4Food), Cristina Monteiro (FeedInov), Margarida Palma (Food4Sustainability), Albino Bento (MORE CoLAB), and Helena Vazão (SmartFarmCoLAB)Round table 2 - Isabel Martins (Vida Rural), Pedro Viterbo (Fertiprado), Rui Lima (SenseTest), Jaime Piçarra (IACA), Gonçalo Amorim (BGI), Andreia Afonso (Deifil Technology) and André Sá (TEROMOVIGO)Closing session - Tiago Pinto (ANPROMIS), António Saraiva (InPP), Miguel Teixeira (CoLAB4Food), Ana Sofia Santos (FeedInov), Nuno Serra (Food4Sustainability), Albino Bento (MORE CoLAB) and Helena Vazão (SmartFarmCoLAB)
The program included two round tables. The first, dedicated to “Innovation in Action: The Results and Impacts of CoLABs in Agriculture and Agrifood”, representatives from each CoLAB took part, presenting success stories and projects developed, with emphasis on the intervention of the innovation manager at InnovPlantProtect, Paulo Madeira, He shared InPP's achievements in developing solutions for more sustainable agriculture.
The second round table, under the theme “Partnerships for the Future: How CoLABs are Driving Innovation in the Agricultural and Agri-Food Sector”, The event was attended by partner companies and associations, who stressed the importance of collaborating with the CoLABs. Among the speakers were Pedro Viterbo, manager of Fertiprado, InnovPlantProtect's partner, accompanied by representatives of the following organizations Sense Test, Associação Portuguesa Dos Industriais De Alimentos Compostos Para Animais (IACA), Building Global Innovators (BGI), DEIFIL Technology and TeroMovigo.
The seminar ended with a moment of joint reflection, with speeches from all the executive directors of the CoLABs present, including the executive director of InnovPlantProtect, António Saraiva, The meeting was organized by the European Commission, which stressed the importance of cooperation and strategic coordination between the Collaborative Laboratories, reinforcing their collective commitment to innovation and sustainable development in the agricultural and agri-food sectors.
Round table 1 - Paulo Madeira (InPP)Round table 2 - Pedro Viterbo (Fertiprado)Closing session - António Saraiva (InPP)
Throughout the seminar, the importance of synergies between science, innovation and the market became clear, as did the need to strengthen funding and guarantee conditions for the continuity and growth of these Collaborative Laboratories, whose impacts are already visible in the national agricultural and agri-food ecosystem.
This meeting was an important moment for sharing experiences and strengthening collaborative work, charting a joint path towards a more competitive, sustainable and innovative future for agriculture and agri-food in Portugal.
CoLAB has been running for at least two years now InnovPlantProtect has a strategy to develop a biological solution against Xylella fastidiosa. However, to date, it has not been possible to find public or private funds to materialize this project.
However, the need for its development seems inevitable, since this pathogenic bacterium, which produces a disease that kills olive trees, almond trees and vineyards, among dozens of other plants, is already present in three areas of Portugal (Porto, Queluz and the Algarve) and its vectors exist throughout the territory.
When will the country realize that it has to invest now - in fact, it should have done so two years ago - so that this extremely aggressive disease doesn't spread to Portuguese olive and almond groves? Why isn't investment being made in prevention, instead of waiting for disaster to strike and then throwing up our hands?
Pedro Fevereiro, CEO of InnovPlantProtect, Visiting Professor, ITQB NOVA
Photo of the main insect vector of Xylella fastidiosa and micrograph of the bacteria
For the rector of the University of Évora, a member institution of InnovPlantProtect, participation in the Elvas CoLAB was “essential” and a step that the institution had to take. Ana Costa Freitas, who cycles to work and receives students in her office, considers collaborative laboratories to be instrumental in reviving the interior with qualified employment. As for plant biotechnology, she is adamant: you can't feed the entire population without genomics.
Text: Eva Ceia/ InnovPlantProtect Photo: Joaquim Miranda
Ana Costa Freitas, rector of the University of Évora, photographed by Joaquim Miranda.
Why did the University of Évora (UÉ) join the InnovPlantProtect (InPP) collaborative laboratory?
The University of Évora wasn't in the initial consortium. When I heard about the consortium, I spoke to the rector of NOVA University and told him that we were interested in being part of the Laboratory. In fact, he said, ‘we have to join’. I think these collaborative laboratories are the next step in science strategy and public policy. They're a step forward from what we've had before: we started with the research centers, then the associated laboratories and now the CoLABs, which have companies involved in the process.
I also think that the CoLABs are an interesting and avant-garde idea, and the fact that they are dispersed throughout the territory is fundamental, not least because I don't recognize many policies for the interior in the government. However, I do recognize in the Ministry of Science [Technology and Higher Education] more policies for the interior. In short, it's essential that we have employment capacity in these places, and qualified employment. And then because the University of Évora has a strong influence in the areas of agriculture and biology; we had a great connection with the [Plant Improvement] Station in Elvas. [InPP is based at INIAV Elvas, which is also a member of CoLAB].
UÉ was already at the genesis of, or associated with, other CoLABs. What does InPP add to the University?
We weren't [associates] of any in this area. And this area is extremely important for the University of Évora, for the region and for the country. It's a key area in our operation because it's part of us. For example, our largest research center is MED [Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development]. It's an area, like all areas of science, that needs to be increasingly transversal, which involves many researchers. It's an area we couldn't be left out of. It was necessary to take this step.
He talks about plant biotechnology, crop protection...
Both - crop protection and plant biotechnology - because, more than the laboratory itself, it's a whole process. There's the soil, the plants, plant protection, (...) Although the laboratory is more focused on protecting Mediterranean crops.
For us, the Mediterranean is an area of choice right now, and the sustainability of this ecosystem is very important. All of this is linked to the need to reduce the intensive use of resources. This “little bit” that is in the InPP is in the whole sector in which the University of Évora has a lot of interest, a lot of impact and a lot of work. That's why I repeat, it was essential that we were [at CoLAB].
Specifically, what is UÉvora's role in this project at the moment?
We have a researcher who is specifically linked to CoLAB, Maria Rosário Félix, who has worked several times with Pedro Fevereiro [executive director of InPP]. I know that they have several projects in collaboration; one of them is a vaccine to protect plants, more particularly olive trees, from the sun. Xylella fastidiosa (a bacterium of the Gammaproteobacteria). Rosário has done very good work and it was important to expand her network of contacts. Small universities generally have smaller research groups, which we obviously need to expand in order to consolidate them even further.
Small university?
For the context of Portuguese universities... Generally, the universities located on the coast have over twenty thousand students, while the universities located in the interior have around eight to nine thousand. In recent years, we've seen an increase in the number of students and that's very positive. As far as master's degrees and doctorates are concerned, they are more difficult to attract, but the University of Évora has achieved very positive results; for example, we have more or less the same percentage as the University of Lisbon.
Now, we have a lot of advantages. It has advantages for the students because they have a much stronger connection with the professors, much greater proximity... I receive emails from students, I receive students here in my office; it's not common for rectors to do this in so-called big universities. We have many good research groups, we have many centers classified as “excellent and “very good”, but forming a research group and growing it becomes more difficult. Because there are fewer people here, so people have to move around; then they have to find a house, settle in the area... And in research, employment is still not a fixed job. We currently have a hundred researchers, but we don't have many with permanent contracts. Most of them have six-year contracts, which can be renewed, but obviously they continue with their projects...
On the other hand, the fact that the groups are smaller is more demanding. In Portugal, we've started to recognize the importance of research networks in the last ten or twenty years. Unfortunately, in Portugal - and this is a private opinion - we used to have too many “little research groups” competing with each other. Today, this issue is more attenuated. Expanding these research networks is very important because a small group can hardly assert itself internationally. The University is small in number, but not in quality.
In the case of InPP, how do you see the participation of companies? Do you think that the strategy followed allows for the development of a joint activity?
I hope so. We're involved in other CoLABs, the Digital Transformation Collaborative Laboratory (DTx), based in Minho, which has had projects with some companies and has companies in its constitution, which is mandatory. From InPP, I've had a bit more feedback, and even the local authority. We're at the beginning. There are several aspects that I think are important: the body of researchers they already have, the fact that these people are based in Elvas and the links with companies - I think this is fundamental and has been successful. On the other hand, the InPP had a difficult aspect, which was not having premises. The building work is due to be finished soon, which will be an important step.
We have Fertiprado and two big companies, Syngenta Crop Protection and Bayer CropScience. Do you think it's possible for companies and laboratories to collaborate effectively?
I think so. The basis of collaborative laboratories is to respond to problems posed by companies and I find the model of having large and small companies involved in the Laboratory very interesting.
We currently have a project with Fertiprado for a specific solution to identify and combat a pathogen that attacks Persian clover...
I think the big companies will be looking for a service, ‘we need this’, and Fertiprado wants to develop solutions. Small companies in Portugal need to get used to the fact that research is essential to the business model they are developing. I think that's what's missing. If this weren't the case, we'd have more PhDs working in companies. There is still no recognition of the need to invest in research. That's why it's great that this transformation is happening, it means that we're managing to do what I think CoLABs are meant to do.
Given that Syngenta or Bayer already have their own R&D departments set up, what can CoLAB offer them?
A research laboratory can always offer a foundation, which is knowledge. Unfortunately, knowledge is not highly valued in our country. People only value knowledge when they turn it into a financial return. And knowledge is much more than that. Large companies, when they need it, know that they have a knowledge base, which is always important. If only to discuss problems. It's about making use of knowledge. And that's important to them, to these companies.
This area, biotechnology and new genomic techniques (NTG) applied to crop protection, is problematic in terms of regulation. At the end of April, the European Commission acknowledged that the legislation approved in 2001 for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is not working and promised to open an extended dialogue. How do you see this future...
The problem with the European Union [EU] is that there are 27 countries that all have to agree. We complain a lot about how long EU decisions take, but there's no one else in the world who has to have agreements approved by 27 heads of state and government. This discussion will take place, but it's complicated. In order to speed things up, we could take the discussion the other way around; in other words, we can't possibly feed the entire population if we don't use genomics. We have to look on the bright side. Now, it will take time.
But I also think it's a good step. It's a step that was inevitable. The opposite was strange. It's science. It's scientific evidence, period. The difficulty of having public policies, whatever they may be, based on scientific evidence... if that were the case, we'd all be happier. I think we would be, because science is the only thing that can promote sustainable development, it's the scientific basis of things. And we're seeing “murders” of sustainability on a daily basis. And then we have these cases, which are a blindfold. It's not wanting to see beyond this. And not being able to interpret the problem from the scientific side; or wanting to, which is even worse. Because it can be politically incorrect.
Do you think InPP will succeed in this challenge?
I think so. It's all about information and communication. It's a bit of a communication model. It's nothing that can't be done. For now, the acronym OGM can't be used, period. From then on, practically everything is allowed.
Do you think there is a lot of work to be done in terms of scientific communication? In terms of explaining that the NTGs are not what they were 20 years ago?
If we explain how useful things are... We need to do a very strong job of communicating, which is fundamental, because it's the future. It can't be any other way. Science communication has more challenges because you can't communicate science with scientific words. We have to have a model of discourse that reaches people. I've been watching the whole Covid-19 problem almost ecstatically. Just the fact that the Prime Minister says that he talks to scientists and none of them tell him exactly whether he should be suspicious or not... He can't tell him exactly! Even if he could, that will always be a political decision. He can listen to whoever he wants and in the end he has to decide, having absorbed as much knowledge as possible.
What do you think will be the most important impact of the InPP?
Well, the results of the research certainly have an impact, but they have a long-term impact. For me, the important thing is to bring these cities back to life. The fact that they already have 38 people living there, who have a different way of thinking, who aren't overwhelmed by loneliness... and Elvas is a particular case, because it has the city of Badajoz next door... I think it's going to be very important to revive these territories. The inland areas of the Alentejo are a third of the country that the country doesn't care about. They have no people. Évora has around 50,000 inhabitants, and Évora is the most populous - it elects three deputies, Portalegre two, Beja another three; and the trend is downwards. They have no impact on the election results. I think the electoral law should be changed.
Public policies are hardly short-term. And the return in electoral terms here is very small. I think the Metro network in Lisbon is great, but there's no transportation in the Alentejo. It's “cheaper” for a student living in Estremoz to go to Lisbon to study than to come from Estremoz to Évora. And whoever says Estremoz, which is 46 km away, says Viana do Alentejo, which is about 30 km away. We don't really have a transportation network. We should invest in this area but it's not profitable, there are few people...
So I think that's the great impact of the inPP: more people saying that you can live well in the Alentejo, and that the Alentejo has very important quality of life conditions to offer. To give you an example, I always cycle to university. We have good living conditions, what we need is for the territory to be able to offer people jobs, housing... because if we don't have jobs and housing for qualified people, they won't come.
InnovPlantProtect is a project that I consider to be structural for the region and the country
Ana Costa Freitas
InPP is the only CoLAB dedicated to biotechnology for crop protection. What other challenges does it face?
The only really important challenge is success. It has to succeed. In order to make it work well, we have to make sure that they succeed; that depends on us to a certain extent.
And the formula for success?
The return for companies needs to be significant and people need to be able to really stay. It's important to make sure that people enjoy what they're doing, that they're doing something they find useful and that they want to stick with it. A good researcher is passionate about what they do, “really likes it” and has an innate curiosity. Look, for example, at how successful the State Laboratories were at the beginning and then they stagnated because they stopped getting investment.
We must never forget this: the science research model in Portugal - and this is a model that is going to connect with companies and therefore it is hoped that companies will start investing too - is competitive: the state doesn't fund research properly and for this reason we have to guarantee funds for research. I don't think it's a bad model at all, but it is competitive. People need to maintain their enthusiasm to be able to apply for projects all the time. This is one of the big challenges.
How do you react to InPP being awarded the Rural Life “Investment that Makes a Mark” Award 2021?
The fact that this CoLAB is considered “the most important investment in the last year in the national agricultural and agro-industrial sector” reinforces its real importance at national level. InnovPlantProtect is a project that I consider to be structural for the region and the country, as it is fundamental in terms of research, employment capacity, and qualified employment in an activity that is crucial for our economy, such as agriculture, and in a region where the urgency of creating qualified employment is structural. This award is therefore very well deserved, but it is also challenging. Very high expectations have been created, which we have an obligation to fulfill in order to meet the challenge we have embraced, and which can only be a winning one.
Interview published first hand by Rural Life, August 2021 issue.
Artificial intelligence at the service of prediction and early detection of Phytophthora cinnamomi in cork oak and holm oak ecosystems deserves the support of the “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with BPI, and the FCT.
The project “AI applied to an early warning and detection system for Phytophthora cinnamomi in dehesa”, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), is one of the winners of the 3rd edition of the Promove Program, in the category of innovative pilot projects. In total, more than 2.5 million euros will be allocated by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, BPI and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under this program for the development of Portugal's inland regions.
The result of a collaboration between Portugal and Spain, the project led by InPP, a collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) based in Elvas, aims to develop and test, in both countries, an Early Detection Warning System (EDWS) to control the spread of the cork oak decline disease, which affects these ecosystems irreversibly.
The disease is caused by a fungal organism (an oomycete) called Phytophthora cinnamomi and is worrying given the importance of cork oak forests in the local and global economies of both Portugal and Spain. The montado/hesa provides services such as the production of cork and firewood, food for animal species (black pigs and cattle), carbon sequestration, reduction of soil erosion, and habitat for rare and endemic species, as well as being a recreational space.
Using artificial intelligence, among other technologies, the proposed system will make it possible to develop predictive maps of the spatial dispersion of the pathogen and produce the appropriate recommendations/actions in the event of a disease outbreak. The project also aims to actively involve all those who depend economically on the state of conservation of the cork oak forest/hesa, namely through the creation of a free and easily accessible webGIS (online geographic information system) service.
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