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.
Researchers have found evidence that Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, This is an immune-mediated disease, which can be mitigated with antioxidants and phytohormones such as gibberellin, lifting the veil on the mechanism that causes this disease. O article on this study was recently published in Nature Communications.
Huanglongbing disease, which affects citrus fruits and ornamental plants, is caused by the bacterium Candidatus liberibacter transmitted by the citrus psyllid, a biting-sucking insect vector that also causes considerable direct damage to plants. The African psyllid (Trioza erytreae), vector of the bacterium Candidatus liberibacter africanus, is listed as a quarantine pest in Europe and its presence in Portugal has been expanding. O citrus greening is considered the most serious disease for these plant species worldwide.
The team from the Citrus Research and Education Center at the University of Florida (USA) shows that the infection of orange trees (Citrus sinensis) by the bacterium Candidatus liberibacter asiaticus induces a chronic systemic immune response in the plant's phloem, mimicking chronic systemic inflammatory diseases in humans, which leads to the death of the cells that make up the phloem tissue.
The conclusion that this is an immune-mediated phytopathology “helps guide the battle against this infamous disease”, the authors state in the article. The researchers consider it likely that horticultural approaches that suppress the oxidative stress of infected plants could mitigate the damage, including the optimal use of plant growth hormones such as gibberellin and brassinosteroids, as well as treatments with antioxidants.
Members of the Elvas CoLAB team tell the camera what brought them to the raia and the “Queen of the Border”, and what led them to accept the challenge of building the InPP.
Because I believe in a more sustainable future
Joana Castro
January 24, 2022. 3rd anniversary of the signing of the public deed setting up the InnovPlantProtect - Association collaborative laboratory. What a journey! Congratulations to the entire team, associates, members of the governing bodies and partners who have contributed and are contributing today to the birth and growth of this young CoLAB.
Because it represented a huge challenge for my return to Portugal
Cristina Azevedo
Why our lives depend on plants
iLaria Marengo
Completing the multilingual, multicultural and multidiverse team of 39 people that make up InPP today was one of the great achievements of the last year. Find out what brought us to Elvas and why we decided to stake our professional and personal lives on the challenge that is InnovPlantProtect. Watch the video on our YouTube channel.
To put into practice the knowledge I've acquired over more than 12 years abroad in the service of my country's scientific development.
Cláudia Rato da Silva
“Building a new institution is always a challenge and a risk. These three years have shown just that: the need to take risks and accept the challenge of overcoming difficulty after difficulty,” recognizes Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of “CoLAB de Elvas”. “The pillar that sustains InnovPlantProtect is people. And it is to all the people who have accepted the challenge of coming to build that the (over)experience and growth of InPP is due. It will continue to grow. Thank you for that.”
For the chance to settle in the country I chose to live in and live in a beautiful city like Elvas
Márcio Almeida
To rid crops of pests using artificial intelligence
Manisha Sirsat
The chance to do what I love
Tiago Amaro
To apply the knowledge acquired in the biopharmaceutical industry to the discovery of biopesticides
“AI applied to a prediction and early detection system for Phytophthora cinnamomi in dehesa ecosystems/ dehesa” is the name of the winning project of the 2020 edition of the Promove Program, which brings together InnovPlantProtect (InPP), the National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV), the Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas de Extremadura (CICYTEX), a ACPA - Association of Alentejo Pig Breeders and the Aflosor - Agro-Forestry Association of the Ponte de Sor Region. Now you can find out more about this collaborative initiative, which has won a own page on the InPP website.
With three study areas, two in Portugal (the municipalities of Avis and Ourique) and one in Spain (Alcuescar), the overall aim is to apply monitoring and warning systems to large patches of forest, using digital robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on a large scale.
This project is funded under Promove - The Future of the Interior, a program of the la Caixa“ Foundation” launched in partnership with BPI and Foundation for Science and Technology, The aim is to support innovative initiatives in strategic areas for the development of Portugal's inland regions.
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