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 11th, from 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.
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.
“It was motivating for the students to realize what they can do given what they study at school, and even how they can contribute to their own community.” This is the opinion of Telma Rafael, a teacher at D. Sancho II Secondary School, in Elvas, who today, May 24th, accompanied the pedipaper held at the Municipal Gardenof the city, for the 11th grade class of the Professional Technical Course in Agricultural Production.
The activity, co-organized by the collaborative laboratory InnovPlantProtect (InPP) and that educational institution, as part of the celebrations of the International Day for the Fascination of Plants, to which the Elvas City Council (CME) joined in, with the aim of allowing the students to explore, identify and marvel at the different trees in the Garden - the largest green space in the city - and their differentiating characteristics.
The 26 young people present, who had the opportunity to share experiences with half a dozen InPP researchers, “enjoyed the activity”, which they found “very interesting and interactive”, says Telma Rafael. Divided into teams, they had to travel along a predefined route, meeting a dozen different trees, answering questions about them and solving tasks.
As a result of this activity, InPP, Escola Secundária D. Sancho II, the association AIAR and CME intend to continue collaborating with a view to developing an identification system for the Garden's trees based on a QR code, which will allow mobile access to a “digital brochure” with information about the plants.
Open to the public, the meeting attracted around a dozen sketchers. “The participants were super friendly and super interested,” says Pedro Rosa, an InPP researcher, who took part in the initial tour to introduce the designers to the Garden's plants. Carla Moreira, InPP's project manager, highlights “the sharing of experiences, both by the researchers and the participants”.
The initiative also paved the way for future collaborations and greater interaction between AIAR and InPP. Together with D. Sancho II Secondary School and the CME, cooperation is already planned with a view to developing an identification system for the Garden's trees, based on a QR code, which will allow mobile access to a “digital brochure” with information about the plants.
Plant Fascination Day is an initiative of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO), which takes place every two years on May 18th. It is coordinated at national level by the Portuguese Society of Plant Physiology and by the ITQB NOVA, and included events across the country.
Challenging and fun: that's how most of the students at the D. Sancho II Secondary School rated the pedipaper made in Elvas Municipal Garden on May 18th, in celebration of the International Day for the Fascination of Plants. Some running, others walking, more than 80 young people from three 10th grade classes took part in the tree identification game all morning, answering questions and solving tasks.
“It depends a lot on the enthusiasm of the kids,” observes Pedro Rosa, a researcher at the collaborative laboratory InnovPlantProtect (InPP), who considers that the pedipaper “went well”: “There was communication, [the students] were attentive; we had a very good connection.” “It was very positive for the students” understanding of the diversity that exists in the Garden, as well as their contact with the CoLab," said Carla Moreira, InPP's project manager.
The initiative, to which Elvas City Council (The event was organized by the InPP and the Secondary School of Agrupamento de Escolas n.º 3 de Elvas. The aim was to allow the youngsters, who are studying biodiversity this year, to explore, identify and marvel at the different trees in the garden - the largest green space in the city - and their differentiating characteristics. Another class, from the multimedia technical course, was on site to capture images of the event.
As a result of this activity, InPP, Escola Secundária D. Sancho II, the association AIAR and CME intend to continue collaborating with a view to developing an identification system for the Garden's trees based on a QR code, which will allow mobile access to a “digital brochure” with information about the plants.
Plant Fascination Day is an initiative of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO), which takes place every two years on May 18th. It is coordinated at national level by the Portuguese Society of Plant Physiology and by the ITQB NOVA, and included events across the country.
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