InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the project launch meeting BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomia ao Serviço da Sustentabilidade dos Territórios do Interior (Bioeconomy at the Service of the Sustainability of Inland Territories), which took place on October 1st at the School of Agriculture of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB).
Funded by COMPETE 2023, the BioLivingLABS project, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, in partnership with the InPP, the IPCB, from AQUAVALOR and the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB).
This project's mission is to add value to the low-density territories in the north, center and south of the country by demonstrating and economically boosting the work carried out by the partners - through the creation, demonstration and application of products, processes and services resulting from joint research.
Four living laboratories will be created (Living Labs) in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas, which they intend to promote:
the transfer of knowledge;
technology demonstration;
strategic roadmapping and
the protection of intellectual property.
BioLivingLABS strengthens the link between academia, business and society, driving innovation and sustainability.
Expected impact: Over the course of 24 months, and with Living Labs dedicated to sectors such as olive groves and olive oil, vineyards and wine, fruit and cereals, legumes, among others, the project will contribute to:
increase regional competitiveness;
promote sustainable practices and
responding to the environmental, social and economic challenges facing inland territories.
On September 25, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the National Exhibition of Blue Bioeconomy Pact Projects, held at the Port of Leixões Cruise Terminal, for the exhibition session of the Algae Vertical project, led by PhytoBloom by Necton.
InPP, leader of sub-project 6 - Agriculture, was represented by department director Cristina Azevedo and executive director António Saraiva, who presented some of the new algae-based biosolutions that our team and partners are developing.
There were more than 300 participants and 80 entities, including companies, research centers and political decision-makers. The Opening Conference was attended by the Chairman of Inovamar's General and Supervisory Board, José Soares dos Santos, and round tables were held on the future of the blue economy in Portugal.
Algae Vertical explores the biotechnological potential of algae in sectors as diverse as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and energy.
Find out more about the Algae Vertical Project here.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) recently received approval for an application submitted to COMPETE2030-2024-6 - Collective Actions - Transfer of scientific and technological knowledge - BioLivingLABS - Bioeconomy at the service of the sustainability of inland territories, led by MORE CoLAB - Laboratório Colaborativo Montanhas de Investigação, Associação, in partnership with the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (IPCB) and AQUAVALOR.
BioLivingLABS aims to promote the economic valorization of research and development (R&D) results obtained by various institutions in the North, Center and Alentejo. To this end, it will create an experimental demonstration network, the so-called Living Labs, The project will be held in the innovation hubs of Mirandela, Douro, Covilhã and Elvas. In addition, demonstration actions, workshops, an inland innovation catalog and training on intellectual property protection will be developed with the aim of encouraging the incorporation of innovative solutions in the business sectors of these regions.
Scheduled to begin in October and lasting 24 months, the project has a total eligible investment of over 740,000 euros, financed by COMPETE2030 - Thematic Program for Innovation and Digital Transition. For InPP, this project is a strategic opportunity to strengthen its mission as a center for technology development and transfer, boosting the practical application of scientific knowledge to promote sustainable development.
This initiative confirms InPP's commitment to open and sustainable innovation, integrating science, technology and regional development to respond to the challenges and potential of the interior of the country.
The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated annually on February 11, is an initiative created in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the relevant role played by women and girls in the production of scientific and technological knowledge.
“Exploring careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM): her voice in science” was the theme chosen for this year, with the aim of raising awareness among civil society of the importance of breaking down the barriers imposed by inequality between men and women in access to education and careers in science and innovation, as shared in the official information on UNESCO's website.
In recent decades there has been an increase in the participation of women in science research activities, opening up and exploring new paths that have also benefited the younger generations by arousing their interest and greater attendance at higher education.
Portugal is a good example, as Portuguese women scientists represent almost 50% of the total number of researchers in our country, with remarkable work that has been fundamental to the progress that national science and technology have made in recent decades.
Since its creation, the InPP has valued and supported scientific and technological development through multiple projects in a wide variety of areas, where female leadership has had a positive track record, contributing to the expansion of the collaborative laboratory, the creation of valuable partnerships and the transfer of knowledge to the business environment.
This expansion has led to a consequent increase in scientific advances which, together with the latest technologies, improve the competitiveness of the economy and add value to the area of biotechnology and plant health, for preventing and combating pests and diseases in agricultural crops.
To mark this date, we are highlighting the 24 women who are innovating in Portugal in the biotechnology and crop protection sector, and who represent the science and innovation being developed at InPP. These are some of the women who embody the words commitment, demand, resilience, overcoming, quality, talent, excellence and creativity. But there are many more and today, as every day, we celebrate them.
InPP's innovation manager, Paulo Madeira, took part in the Meeting with rice farmers and technicians in Portugal, promoted by the Operational and Technological Center for Rice (COTArroz), which took place on February 5 at COTArroz's premises in Salvaterra de Magos.
The aim of this meeting was to provide information on the use of herbicides and solutions, such as biostimulants for rice cultivation, to help mitigate the impact of pyriculariosis, one of the diseases that most affects this cereal worldwide and also in Portugal.
Moments of sharing knowledge and experiences like these not only contribute to the evolution of the sector, but also give us hope for the future of cereal growing!
Special thanks to COTArroz for the invitation to take part in the event. We look forward to your visit to Elvas, to get to know the work of our CoLAB and to explore possibilities for collaboration.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) celebrated its 6th anniversary this Friday, January 24, 2025, at the Auditorium of the National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research (INIAV) - Elvas Pole, in Elvas, with 120 guests in attendance.
The commemorative session was attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, who was accompanied by the Secretary of State for Agriculture, João Moura, the vice-president of the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Alentejo) who holds the agriculture portfolio, Roberto Grilo, and the President of INIAV, IP, Nuno Canada. Also present at the commemoration was the councillor from Elvas Municipal Council (CM), representing José Rondão Almeida, the mayor of Elvas.
The welcome session was led by António Saraiva, InPP's executive director, who began by thanking all the guests present, and especially INIAV, the Municipality of Elvas and the associates for all their support. The executive director, who took up his post in December last year, congratulated the entire InPP team, to a standing ovation from all the guests present at the celebration: “Today is our day. We're six years old!”.
After two months as CEO, António Saraiva considers CoLAB to be a “true case study”, with “training skills, professional experience and a dedicated 100% human resources team that has attracted and retained talent from the north to the south of the country and also from Madeira, but also from abroad”. InPP already has an international team of 46 employees of 10 nationalities.
The InPP “has been a very attractive option for highly qualified work for young people in the region and the Alentejo, (...) working for the benefit of the competitiveness of Agriculture”, he stressed. “We are contributing to the modernization of agriculture so that it can respond to the needs of its professionals and the expectations of society.”.
António Saraiva, executive director of the InPP, during the welcoming session for participants in the 6th Anniversary of the InPP
The InnovPlantProtect brand is already a recognized reference throughout the country, particularly in the agricultural sector and, according to António Saraiva, “the importance of InPP goes far beyond the Alentejo region”, recalling the concept behind its creation: to develop an R&D laboratory capable of responding to the lack of phytosanitary solutions that agricultural producers have been experiencing, with a focus on crops from the Mediterranean region.
For six years, CoLAB has been developing bioinspired products, such as bioprotectants and biostimulants, as well as laboratory and digital services “provided to all those who come to us. We are helping to meet the needs of the countryside and companies in the agricultural sector,” he emphasized. InPP currently has more than a hundred partners and clients, in projects and collaborations, and in the provision of technical and scientific assistance services.
The seven national and international patent applications already produced by CoLAB to protect crops against various diseases that affect them at regional and national level were also highlighted in the executive director's speech. “We hope to have three more patent applications by the end of this year. It's a lengthy and very intense process, but we're going to do it,” he said.
Another of the points addressed by the CoLAB leader was the visit by the president of the National Innovation Agency (ANI), António Grilo, on January 20th. The president of ANI “left a positive note of InPP's excellent work, materialized mainly in the results obtained with the registration of patents, but was unable to say anything about the funding model after 2025”.
The executive director ended his speech by alerting the minister to the need for CoLABs to be informed “in good time” about the funding available after 2025 “so that we can project our future activity, and so that the team can focus on what is essential and not lose its focus”.
After the welcome session, there was a session entitled “What innovation is produced at InPP?”, in which two department directors, Cristina Azevedo and Ricardo Ramiro, introduced their teams and gave examples of biopesticides that are effective against the diseases fire blight and pyriculariosis in rice, a broad-spectrum biofungicide against gray rot in tomatoes, as well as the use of drones and artificial intelligence to monitor pests in the main agricultural crops.
One of the latest innovations is the iCountPests app, which not only reduces the time invested in monitoring and creating a pest history, but also contributes to better management of the pests present in the farmer's field, democratizing access to technology.
From left to right: Cristina Azevedo, director of the New Biopesticides Department; Ricardo Ramiro, director of the Data Management and Risk Analysis Department; João Moura, Secretary of State for Agriculture; and José Manuel Fernandes, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, during the session “What innovation is produced at the InPP?”
The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, was in charge of the closing session. To the words heard during the speech by the executive director of InPP, “entrepreneurship and passion”, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries chose the word “ambition” to kick off the closing session. “We have to have the ambition to make things happen, to take risks, to not be afraid, to move forward,” he added.
The minister highlighted the word ambition when referring to the seven patents that are currently underway and also stressed the “absolutely essential” role of applied research in creating real impact in the agricultural sector and local communities, giving the example of the fire blight disease that affects pear and apple trees, “a challenge that we have to overcome” and for which the InPP team has already filed the first international patent application.
During his speech, José Manuel Fernandes not only didn't forget the “other pests and diseases”, he also said that “climate change, as we all know, is here and we have to make a collaborative effort, seeking to share what is being done in European terms.”
The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries congratulated the InPP team “not only for all their work, but for allowing me to be here with you” and was pleased that it was made up largely of young people, when in the agricultural sector at national level the average age is one of the highest in the European Union, at 64, and “what we are trying to do is generational renewal. I'm very pleased when I only see young people, and young people whose faces show joy, which means that this glow you see is a sign of hope, of confidence, and with a multicultural team, that can only add to it.”
“You can count on us, on our support, but we are also counting on you to change what is an urgent need, which is to change the perception of agriculture: an agriculture that is increasingly modern, an agriculture that needs to be rejuvenated, where the farmer's income needs to be improved and an agriculture that is essential for our food security, and for our strategic autonomy,” he concluded.
José Manuel Fernandes, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, during the closing session of the 6th Anniversary of the InPP
The InnovPlantProtect team with the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, during the session commemorating the 6th anniversary of the InPP.
The session continued with a drink for the guests, during which InPP was congratulated with a birthday cake.
The balance of the commemorative event was positive, having been able to attract the Elven community, representatives of various companies and agricultural producers, and the academic community.
After six years, InPP promotes the transfer of knowledge, reinforces its position as a CoLAB capable of fostering the development of new technologies, products and services with a strong technological and innovation component, and strengthens its commitment to promoting solutions that make a difference in tackling the various challenges of agricultural crop protection.
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