plásticos – InnovPlantProtect

NEWS

Seminar highlights CoLABs' contribution to the future of agricultural and agri-food innovation

June 12, 2025
Blog, News
Ines Ferreira

On June 11th, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) held a seminar on “Six years of innovation: CoLABs” path to the future of the agricultural and agri-food sectors", at the National Agriculture Fair (FNA) in Santarém.

The event brought together, for the first time, six Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABs) with direct involvement in the agricultural and agri-food sectors: InnovPlantProtect, CoLAB4Food, FeedInov CoLAB, Food4Sustainability, MORE CoLAB and SmartFarmCoLAB.

Round table 1 - Sofia Couto (ANI), Paulo Madeira (InPP), André Mota (Colab4Food), Cristina Monteiro (FeedInov), Margarida Palma (Food4Sustainability), Albino Bento (MORE CoLAB), and Helena Vazão (SmartFarmCoLAB)

The program included two round tables. The first, dedicated to “Innovation in Action: The Results and Impacts of CoLABs in Agriculture and Agrifood”, representatives from each CoLAB took part, presenting success stories and projects developed, with emphasis on the intervention of the innovation manager at InnovPlantProtect, Paulo Madeira, He shared InPP's achievements in developing solutions for more sustainable agriculture.

The second round table, under the theme “Partnerships for the Future: How CoLABs are Driving Innovation in the Agricultural and Agri-Food Sector”, The event was attended by partner companies and associations, who stressed the importance of collaborating with the CoLABs. Among the speakers were Pedro Viterbo, manager of Fertiprado, InnovPlantProtect's partner, accompanied by representatives of the following organizations Sense Test, Associação Portuguesa Dos Industriais De Alimentos Compostos Para Animais (IACA), Building Global Innovators (BGI), DEIFIL Technology and TeroMovigo.

The seminar ended with a moment of joint reflection, with speeches from all the executive directors of the CoLABs present, including the executive director of InnovPlantProtect, António Saraiva, The meeting was organized by the European Commission, which stressed the importance of cooperation and strategic coordination between the Collaborative Laboratories, reinforcing their collective commitment to innovation and sustainable development in the agricultural and agri-food sectors.

Throughout the seminar, the importance of synergies between science, innovation and the market became clear, as did the need to strengthen funding and guarantee conditions for the continuity and growth of these Collaborative Laboratories, whose impacts are already visible in the national agricultural and agri-food ecosystem.

This meeting was an important moment for sharing experiences and strengthening collaborative work, charting a joint path towards a more competitive, sustainable and innovative future for agriculture and agri-food in Portugal.

CoLABs in the spotlight at FNA: Innovation and Impact for Agriculture and Agrifood

June 3, 2025
Blog, News
Ines Ferreira

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!

InPP participa na FNA25

June 3, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News, Latest
Ines Ferreira

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!

EVENTS

OLIVUM TALKS debate CAP reform and sustainability

December 11, 2020
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The 7th Olivum Conference will be held on December 15 and 16, this time in digital format. The first day of the event will be dedicated to the “Reform of the CAP” and the second to the “Challenges of sustainability”.

The “Reform of the CAP” will be discussed on the first day of the seventh edition of the Olivum Days, which will be held online on December 15 and 16. The session on the 15th will feature the Minister of Agriculture, Maria do Céu Antunes, MEP Isabel Carvalhais, from the Agriculture Committee, João Pacheco, Senior Fellow at think-tank Farm Europe, Paulo Gouveia, Chief Policy Adviser at COPA-COGECA, and, as moderator, the director of Diário de Notícias Rosália Amorim.

The “Challenges of Sustainability” will be the subject of analysis on the second day of the event, moderated by Isabel Martins, director of Revista Sustentável, and with speeches by Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director of Development and Cooperation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, João Wengorovius Menezes, Secretary General of the Business Council for Sustainable Development, José Pedro Salema, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infra-Estruturas do Alqueva and João Luís Barroso, Director of Sustainability at the Alentejo Regional Wine Commission.

On both days, the sessions take place between 10:00 and 11:30. Participation is free, but requires registration previous.

Are pesticides necessary for a resilient food system?

December 9, 2020
Blog
Ines Ferreira

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Can Europe help feed a growing population while reducing the impact of agriculture on climate and biodiversity? Can farmers produce enough food without pesticides? Can pesticides be part of intelligent pest control, using new and innovative technologies? Find out more later in the webinar “Pesticides and a Resilient Food System”.

The debate on pesticide use is becoming increasingly contentious in Europe. As part of the Green Deal initiative launched in December last year, the European Commission is reviewing the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive. But this is an effort that only leads to a more fundamental discussion about the sustainable use of pesticides.

In this fundamental discussion, questions arise such as: can Europe help feed a growing population and keep farmers in business, while reducing the impact of agriculture on the climate and biodiversity? Can farmers produce enough food without pesticides? Can pesticides be part of smart pest management, which uses new and innovative technologies?

On the first anniversary of the Green Deal, Bayer is promoting an Oxford-style webinar on resilience, where two teams will ‘face off’, with the motion for the debate being “Pesticides are not necessary for a resilient food system in the European Union”.

iPlanta debates RNAi technology

December 7, 2020
Blog
Ines Ferreira

The iPlanta conferences returned this year in a different format to usual, with three webinars on RNA intervention technology (RNAi) and a panel of speakers made up of international researchers.

After the theme “Development of RNAi-based pesticides: new opportunities” on December 1, the 4th edition of the iPlanta conferences starts again today at 5pm, this time dedicated to the environmental biosafety of RNAi-based pesticides. The third and final day of the event will be on December 14, also at 5pm, where regulatory issues will be discussed.

Participation is free but requires registration. Watch the videos of the first session here e here.

iPlanta is a COST action, a European organization that promotes and funds the networking in research and technology. Chaired by Bruno Mezzetti, it aims to review existing and future applications of RNAi, create a bioinformatics database, develop specific biosafety protocols, define post-market monitoring requirements and methods for RNAi plants, and encourage, promote and disseminate research reports by scientists involved in RNAi-related studies.

The importance of the iPlanta Conferences lies in the urgent need to find more effective solutions, through the application of RNAi, one of the new breeding techniques, to combat the pathogenic interactions faced by crops, which are responsible for the loss of substantial amounts of agricultural production worldwide, including in Portugal, where around 40 % of crops are lost every year. In global terms, the figures are similar: according to estimates by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), between 20% and 40% of crops are destroyed every year due to pests and diseases.

With the estimated increase in population, modern agriculture is facing one of its greatest challenges: guaranteeing food supplies for 10 billion people in just 30 years' time. The application of RNAi technology promises to respond effectively to this challenge.

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