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.
What will be the future of Rocha pear production? This was the motto for the 10th Rocha in Bloom Meeting, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in this project, which brought together technicians, researchers and companies in the March 15th, no Cadaval, to discuss and debate the problem of stenphylosis and other diseases in the Rocha pear tree.
Cristina Azevedo, director of InPP's New Biopesticides department, was one of the speakers on the panel on “Plant Health: Bacterial Fire” with a presentation entitled “A Control Solution”. The panel was moderated by the executive director of the collaborative laboratory, Pedro Fevereiro.
The panel on “Plant Health: Stenphyliosis and other enemies” featured Ricardo Ramiro, director of InPP's Data Management and Risk Analysis department, with a presentation entitled “A Roselinea and the soil microbiome”.
In addition to the problem of plant health, the issues of irrigation water and other production management technologies were also addressed.
The opening session was attended by the Chairman of the Board of the Sobrena Agricultural Producers' Association, Rui Soares, and the Mayor of Cadaval, José Bernardo Nunes.
The closing session was attended by the President of the Portuguese Farmers' Confederation, Álvaro Mendonça e Moura, and the President of the General Assembly of the Sobrena Agricultural Producers' Association, Manuel Chaveiro Soares.
The initiative was organized by the Sobrena Agricultural Producers Association (APAS), in collaboration with Cadaval Town Hall.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present last Tuesday, March 12, at the field session “Soil microbiology and its agronomic relevance”, promoted by the Association of Agroforestry Producers of the Sor Region (Aflosor), in collaboration with the Mediterranean Forest Union (UNAC), which took place at Herdade Margem do Sol Posto, located in Foros do Mocho, Montargil.
Soil microbiology, the fundamental role of mushrooms in forest conservation, the impact of extensive livestock farming on soil biodiversity and fertility and its agronomic relevance were some of the topics covered.
Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of InPP, Nuno Faria and João Colaço, researchers from the collaborative laboratory, took part in this session, which was accompanied by experts, and in which they had the opportunity to examine the soil in the field and take part in a debate where they exchanged experiences and knowledge.
Thanks to Aflosor and UNAC for the excellent exchange of ideas that each participant brought to the table!
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the second face-to-face meeting of the project Vertical Algae, The event, which took place this Wednesday, March 13, at the University of Aveiro, and of which the collaborative laboratory (CoLAB) is a part.
The meeting, organized by the University of Aveiro, the Portuguese Association of Algae Producers (PROALGA) and GreenCoLab, brought together more than 140 people, representing the 38 partner entities involved in Algae Vertical, with the aim of taking stock of the work carried out by the seven sub-projects and presenting the results obtained so far and the next steps to be taken to achieve the proposed objectives.
The first part of the meeting included an open session that welcomed renowned dignitaries and industry leaders. Among the guests were Miguel Marques, chairman of Inovamar's Board of Directors, João Navalho, chairman of Necton's Board of Directors, José Ribau Esteves, mayor of Aveiro, and Eduardo Anselmo Castro, vice-president of the Centro Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRC). This was followed, in an open format to the community, by a presentation of the latest developments, results and the way forward by the respective representatives of each of the seven sub-projects covering the various industrial sectors.
The director of InPP's New Biopesticides department, Cristina Azevedo, presented the 30 algae biomasses tested as part of subproject 6 linked to agriculture, led by our CoLAB in partnership with GreenCoLab, with the aim of understanding their potential as biopesticides and biostimulants.
Last year's inaugural meeting set ambitious goals for the project, aiming to create products, processes and services using blue biotechnology by December 31, 2025.
The meeting allowed for an exchange of knowledge and ideas, with the unique insights that each participant brought to the table fostering an environment of collaboration and innovation.
The partners will continue their journey through the incredible world of algae with great motivation!
You can (re)watch the recording of the meeting on the project's YouTube channel here.
The Algae Vertical, led by Necton, is part of the Blue Bioeconomy Pact and is driven by Inovamar. It is funded by the European NextGenerationEU, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
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