News & Events

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NEWS

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 11thfrom 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.

Venha visitar-nos. Esperamos por si!

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.

Image credits: InnovPlantProtect

EVENTS

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

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.

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.