vitamina A – InnovPlantProtect

NEWS

InPP attends celebration of 7 years of CoLABs: Balance and future of innovation

July 1, 2025
Blog, Highlight, News
Ines Ferreira

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.

Image credits: InnovPlantProtect - Inês Ferreira

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!

EVENTS

The importance of bioagent transport systems for field application

May 7, 2021
Latest
Ines Ferreira

The Department of Formulations and Process Development for the Application of Biopesticides is dedicated to the design and production of encapsulation and transport systems, suitable for protecting our biological agents from the degradation that occurs during prolonged storage and during application. These protective and carrier systems, which are nanometric and micrometric in size, will be incorporated into solid and liquid formulations in a format that adapts to the specific agricultural application for which they have been designed.

After understanding the specific needs of each bioagent, we adjust the characteristics of the respective transport systems accordingly and also focus on developing viable manufacturing processes, potentially scalable to industrial volumes.

Solid nanoparticles, lipid nanoemulsions and polymeric microcapsules will be developed, obtained using precise and sophisticated processes already adopted by the industry. Innovation will be sought through the use of sustainable ingredients and combinations with previous systems, for easier adoption by the biocontrol market.

Image by Hans Reniers | Unsplash

Regulations for new genomic techniques: change is closer

April 30, 2021
Blog
Ines Ferreira

“The current legislation on GMOs [genetically modified organisms], adopted in 2001, is not suitable for the new genomic techniques (NTG),” says the long-awaited study published by the European Commission (EC) at the request of the Council of the European Union (EU). O document led the EC to announce which will “initiate a broad and open consultation process to discuss the design of a new legal framework for these biotechnologies”.

“The study shows that NTG, which are techniques for altering the genome of an organism, have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable food system within the framework of the objectives of the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy“, says the EC statement. “With consumer and environmental safety as the guiding principle, the time has come to establish an open dialogue with citizens, Member States and the European Parliament in order to decide together on the way forward for the use of these biotechnologies in the EU,” stresses Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.

“NTGs have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable food system.”

The report identifies limitations to the legislation's ability to keep up with scientific developments, causing implementation challenges and illegal uncertainties, which need to be resolved. It recognizes that it may not be justifiable to apply different levels of regulatory oversight to products with similar degrees of risk, as in the case of conventionally improved plants and those obtained from certain NTGs.

“Future regulatory actions will need to address the knowledge gaps and limitations identified in this study.” In addition, “a greater effort should be made to inform and involve the public regarding NGTs, and to assess their opinions,” admits the EC.

Entitled ‘Study on the status of new genomic techniques under Union law and in light of the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16’, the study examines the current state of NTG, “taking into account the ‘state of the art’ of knowledge and the views of EU countries and stakeholders”. The Council of the EU requested this state of play on NTG under European law (Directive 2001/18/EC, Regulation (EC) 1829/2003, Directive 2009/41/EC e Regulation (EC) 1830/2003), in the light of the judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-528/16.

Image by Congerdesign | Pixabay

Getting closer to a regulation change in Europe regarding New Genomic Techniques

April 30, 2021
Blog
Ines Ferreira

“The current GMO legislation, adopted in 2001, is not fit for purpose for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs)”, says the awaited study published by the European Commission (EC), at the request of the EU Council. The document prompted the EC to announce the start of a “wide and open consultation process to discuss the design of a new legal framework for these biotechnologies”.

“The study shows that NGTs, which are techniques to alter the genome of an organism, have the potential to contribute to a more sustainable food system as part of the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy”, states the EC in the related press release. “With the safety of consumers and the environment as the guiding principle, now is the moment to have an open dialogue with citizens, Member States and the European Parliament to jointly decide the way forward for the use of these biotechnologies in the EU”, emphasizes Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.

The study identifies limitations to the capacity of legislation to keep pace with scientific developments, causing implementation challenges and legal uncertainties, which need to be addressed. It recognizes it may not be justified to apply different levels of regulatory oversight to similar products with similar levels of risk, as is the case for plants conventionally bred and obtained from certain NGTs.

“Future policy action would need to address the knowledge gaps and limitations identified in this study”. Furthermore, “importantly, more effort should be made to inform and engage with the public on NGTs and assess their views”, admits the EC.

Entitled ‘Study on the status of new genomic techniques under Union law and in light of the Court of Justice ruling in Case C-528/16’, the report examines the status of NGTs “taking into account the state of the art knowledge and the views of the EU countries and stakeholders”. The Council of the European Union asked for this study, regarding the status of new genomic techniques under Union Law (Directive 2001/18/EC, Regulation (EC) 1829/2003, Directive 2009/41/EC and Regulation (EC) 1830/2003), in light of the Court of Justice's judgment in Case C-528/16.

Image by Congerdesign, from Pixabay

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