The executive director of InnovPlantProtect (InPP), António Saraiva, took part in the conference “What are the challenges facing the national agroforestry sector over the next decade?”, which took place at the Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC) of the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra last Tuesday, April 22.
The event, which brought together more than 150 participants and was organized by 17 national Competence Centres, discussed topics such as innovation, sustainability, soil conservation, monitoring cork oak forests and efficient agricultural management.
António Saraiva was part of the panel of commentators, whose speaker was Pedro Santos, Director General of CONSULAI, and moderated by Maria Custódia Correia, Coordinator of the AKIS Portugal Network. The opening session was attended by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, José Manuel Fernandes, who announced the publication of the Ordinance of April 21 to open the Grant for Initiatives for the creation of Operational Groups (OG).
This initiative provides a total of 11 million euros for new GOs, with a maximum of 350,000 euros per project and eligible funding of 100%.
The GOs are considered crucial structures for transferring knowledge and strengthening the AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System).
Special thanks to the 17 Competence Centers for the opportunity to participate in this productive meeting!
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the path to success, organizations define strategies, plan each step, and invest in crucial resources such as the sale of services and products, project applications, the development of solid business plans, and the protection of intellectual property. However, there is an often-neglected element that is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force, and why is it so vital to advancing agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity lies in the art of finding something valuable when looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather of a fortuitous encounter with the unknown. Although deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often come across revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies, and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at the “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from the InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose insight transformed a fortuitous event into a discovery of inestimable value: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray mold disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the greatest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if not controlled in a timely manner.
From discard to discovery: An investigator's insight
The journey of this discovery began in a scenario familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cell or microorganism cultures. In Maria Miguel's Petri dishes, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her attention: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear zone surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and ignoring it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind that clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that within a failure, there can be something good,” shares the researcher. The emotion and enthusiasm of a researcher when realizing that what at first seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, can actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “error” transformed into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at the InPP's Department of New Biopesticides, transformed an unexpected event into a groundbreaking discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray mold in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the story of this biofungicide demonstrates, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that arose from the unexpected. One of the most famous cases is the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated Staphylococcus aureus bacteria around it. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important drug for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove that we are right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, a solid scientific knowledge, and the ability to see and advance to further investigations on surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The ecosystem of discovery: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions, or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas under a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territories without fear of failure, thus increasing the odds of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. Maria Miguel's discovery is a testament to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research.”
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that stimulates open discussions and connects people from diverse areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes a relentless pursuit of improving scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, driven by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral fellowship - a program that supports the career of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her innovative discovery is opening new and promising doors for future research in the area of crop protection, demonstrating how, at times, it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
Beyond strategy: The secret ingredient of innovation
On the road to success, organizations define strategies, plan every step and invest in crucial resources such as selling services and products, applying for projects, drawing up solid business plans and protecting intellectual property. However, there is an element that is often overlooked, but which is fundamental to the flourishing of innovation: serendipity. But what exactly is this mysterious force and why is it so vital to the advancement of agriculture and so many other areas?
When chance opens doors: The power of unplanned discovery
Serendipity is the art of finding something valuable when you're looking for something else. It's the unintentional discoveries that arise from unexpected situations. Throughout history, some of the most transformative innovations have not been the result of a rigorous plan, but rather a chance encounter with the unknown. While deliberate research and methodical experimentation are pillars of scientific and technological progress, openness to the unexpected proves to be a powerful catalyst. When researchers cultivate this openness, they often stumble upon revelations that have the potential to revolutionize entire industries, transform technologies and expand our understanding of the world around us.
A close look at “error”: The genesis of an innovative biofungicide
Today, we unveil the surprising and inspiring story of Maria Miguel, a talented researcher from InPP's New Biopesticides Department, whose acumen turned a chance event into a priceless discovery: a broad-spectrum biofungicide capable of combating the Botrytis cinerea, the relentless fungus responsible for the devastating gray rot disease in tomato plants. This pathology represents one of the biggest phytosanitary challenges in tomato cultivation, especially when grown in greenhouses, causing significant losses to producers if it is not controlled in good time.
From discard to discovery: The insight of a researcher
The journey of this discovery began in a setting familiar to any researcher: the observation of Petri dishes, used to grow cultures of cells or microorganisms. On Maria Miguel's plates, colonies of the fungus Botrytis cinerea were growing, intentionally introduced there for study. However, something else caught her eye: one of the plates was contaminated by mold, and curiously, a clear area surrounded this intruder. Instead of discarding the plate and dismissing it as mere contamination, Maria Miguel decided to investigate the reason behind the clear area. Her curiosity revealed that the mold had a surprising ability to prevent the growth of Botrytis cinerea in its vicinity.
“Sometimes we look at something and think it's a mistake. The truth is that in a failure there can be something good,” the researcher shares. The excitement and enthusiasm of a researcher realizing that what at first glance seemed like an obstacle, a negative result, could actually be an opportunity, is contagious. For Maria Miguel, this “mistake” turned into a serendipitous discovery with enormous potential.
Maria Miguel, a researcher at InPP's New Biopesticides Department, who turned an unexpected event into a discovery that changed the course of her work: a broad-spectrum biofungicide to combat gray rot in tomato plants.
Beyond chance: The active ingredients of scientific discovery
As the history of this biofungicide shows, the world of science is full of examples of discoveries that came out of the blue. One of the most famous cases is Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928. While observing Petri dishes, Fleming noticed that a mold was producing a substance that eliminated bacteria Staphylococcus aureus around him. He identified the mold as Penicillium notatum and named his revolutionary antibiotic penicillin. Penicillin ended up becoming an extremely important medicine for fighting infections.
However, chance is not the only protagonist of these important revelations. “Sometimes we have to follow our intuition and be able to prove ourselves right or wrong,” explains Maria Miguel. In addition to intuition, a generous dose of curiosity, an open mind to accept unexpected results, solid scientific knowledge and the ability to see and move on to further research into surprising results play a crucial role in the alchemy of discovery.
The discovery ecosystem: Fostering an environment conducive to innovation
There are other ingredients that contribute to the recipe for scientific success:
Creativity: The ability to generate new perspectives, concepts, questions or solutions, and the willingness to explore existing ideas in a new light.
Flexibility: The courage to venture into unknown territory without the fear of failure, thus increasing the chances of serendipitous encounters.
But no discovery flourishes in isolation. At InPP, the strong team spirit and culture of collaboration transcend departmental boundaries. The case of Maria Miguel's discovery is testimony to this synergy, as she herself acknowledges: “My colleagues opened doors so that I could do my research”.
To foster innovation, organizations need to cultivate an environment that encourages open discussions and connects people from different areas of knowledge and life experiences, without judgment; that encourages curiosity and receptiveness to new experiences; and that promotes an incessant quest to improve scientific knowledge, the fertile ground where serendipity can germinate.
Sowing the future: The impact of a discovery and the path of research
Although Maria Miguel is about to embark on a new journey, boosted by a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD scholarship - a program that supports the careers of researchers and promotes excellence and innovation in research - her legacy at InPP is already flourishing. Her groundbreaking discovery is opening promising new doors for future research in the field of crop protection, demonstrating how sometimes it is in the unexpected that the potential to transform our world lies.
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) took part in the second edition of the Summer Course in Plant Biotechnology, promoted by the Biotechnology Information Center (CiB), which took place between July 10 and 13 in the city of Coimbra, with the motto of innovation for sustainability.
InPP was represented by the executive director of Innovplantprotect, Pedro Fevereiro, and the director of the Specific Crop Protection department, Sandra Correia, who spoke at the theoretical session entitled “Cell culture for the production of metabolites”, which took place on the morning of July 11, and on July 12, the penultimate day of the event, the executive director spoke on the topic of “The green biotechnology sector in Portugal”.
The aim of this Summer Course, which also has the support of the Center for Functional Ecology (CEF) of the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Coimbra (UC), is to disseminate the different areas of plant biotechnology and the impact that biotechnological tools can have on mitigating the effects of climate change, as well as on food production, with a view to ensuring food security.
The National Monitoring Committee (CNA) of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) visited Alto Alentejo on July 4 to take stock of the implementation of the projects financed by the PRR in the region and to hear from the various final beneficiaries about their concerns, difficulties and suggestions.
The meeting at InnovPlantProtect (InPP), followed by a guided tour of the facilities, was aimed at monitoring the Interface Mission project, financed by the PRR, to guarantee basic public funding for the collaborative laboratory (CoLAB), as well as the projects “+Valorcer - Valorizamos a organização da produção de cereais” and “SNM_XylellaVt - Sistema Nacional de Monitorização de Insetos Vetores da Xylella fastidiosa“, led by InPP, and the Blue Bioeconomy Pact and InsectERA projects, in which CoLAB is a partner.
As well as this, it was also possible to present to the President of the CNA, Pedro Dominguinhos, the scientific research and innovation developed by the five departments over the four years of CoLAB's existence, to align strategies for future applications to the PRR, as well as to highlight the added value that the InPP is bringing in terms of establishing jobs in the region.
The delegation also had the chance to talk to some of our researchers about their careers, their academic and scientific career at various national and foreign universities, and to find out what led them to move to the city of Elvas.
In addition to this project, other applications that have already been submitted to the PRR, which are relevant to the region and are still awaiting approval, were also discussed, as well as the intention to submit others that are currently being drawn up.
InPP's executive director, Pedro Fevereiro, as well as the department directors, Cristina Azevedo, Sandra Correia, Ricardo Ramiro, iLaria Marengo and David Learmonth, welcomed the delegation.
On the 5th, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at Ciência 2023 - Meeting with Science and Technology in Portugal, which included the participation of Pedro Fevereiro, executive director of InPP, in the session “Innovation, sustainability and food safety: what is the positioning and roadmap of CoLABs in the Agro sector?”, which took place for the first time in the city of Aveiro.
The session brought together the collaborative laboratories (CoLABs) in the area of Agriculture - the InPP, the FeedInov CoLab, o Food4Sustainability, o SmartFarmCoLAB and CoLAB VINES&WINES -to discuss together the technological and strategic paths that the CoLABs have defined to respond to the needs and demands of the agricultural sector.
The session was structured with an international keynote speaker, followed by a round table moderated by a journalist, with the presence of the 5 CoLabs and the discussion open to the public. The expected results were the identification of innovations in progress and the understanding and possible adjustment of the strategic lines developed and to be developed, as well as greater efficiency in the interaction between the Colabs in the area of Agriculture.
The initiative, which brought together experts and researchers from different scientific fields, was attended by the Prime Minister, António Costa, and by the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, the Minister for the Economy and the Sea, António Costa Silva, and the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes. The meeting was closed by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The 2023 edition of Encontro Ciência took place between July 5 and 7 in Aveiro, at the Santiago da Prata University Campus. University of Aveiro, The event was dedicated to the theme “Science and the Ocean Beyond the Horizon” and focused on the ocean and water.
Encontro Ciência is the largest annual science and technology event in Portugal, promoted by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in collaboration with the National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture - Agencia Nacional de Cultura Científica e Tecnológica - Ciência Viva and, this year, also with the University of Aveiro. The initiative also has the institutional support of the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education and the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Science, Youth and Sport.
National R&D institutions, namely FCT R&D units, CoLABs, Associated Laboratories and State Laboratories, take an active part in the scientific program of Encontro Ciência every year, through their participation in the many parallel thematic sessions, demonstrations of R&D activities and posters by PhD students.
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