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.
InnovPlantProtect InPP, represented by the directors of the New Biopesticides and Specific Crop Protection departments, Cristina Azevedo and Sandra Correia, took part in the kick-off meeting for the VINNY project, which took place on July 25 and 26 in Porto.
The main objective of the VINNY consortium is to develop and implement sustainable solutions for viticulture, creating environmentally friendly biopesticides and biofertilizers, thus reducing dependence on harmful agrochemicals and promoting a healthier environment.
The purpose of the meeting was to present the main objectives and innovative solutions to be developed by the 19 partners from 10 countries that make up the consortium!
After the meeting there was still time to explore the Douro Valley Wine Region. On the second day, our directors had the opportunity to take a fantastic boat trip from Peso da Régua to Pinhão, a UNESCO World Heritage region and producer of the famous “Port Wine”.
Finally, the project partners visited the experimental field at Quinta do Pôpa and enjoyed a wine tasting.
Join us and stay updated on the progress of the VINNY Project!
InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was present at the meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries that took place last Monday, July 22, at the BejaParque Hotel in Beja.
The aim of the meeting, which included MPs from the PSD, PS, Chega and PCP constituencies, was to listen to the players in the field, such as local authorities, associations, companies and other entities in the agricultural sector, to get to know the reality of agriculture and livestock farming in this region up close, and to find out about the successes, potential and constraints in the area.
Representing associations and companies in the agricultural sector were the Associação dos Regantes, Associação dos Criadores do Porco Alentejano, Associação de Agricultores do Campo Branco, Associação dos Jovens Agricultores de Moura, Cooperativa Agrícola de Moura e Barrancos, João Portugal Ramos, Lusomorango, Olivum, Pepe Aromas Lda, Portugal Nuts, Cooperativa Agrícola de Beja e Brinches and Associação de Agricultores do Sul (ACOS) and Almiberia Lda.
Problems related to the use of water resources in Alqueva and the revitalization of the Alentejo cork oak forest were some of the concerns presented by the sector to the Assembly of the Republic's Agriculture Committee, which visited the Baixo Alentejo district.
The meeting took place as part of a working visit to the Alentejo region from July 21 to 23.
Last Friday, July 19th, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) received a visit from the Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre.
The minister came to Elvas to see the collaborative laboratory (CoLAB), where he was received by the executive director of InPP, Pedro Fevereiro, and the director of the Elvas branch of the National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research, I.P. (INIAV, I.P.), Benvindo Maçãs. The visit was also attended by the president of the Portalegre Polytechnic Institute (IPP), Luís Loures, and the director of the Escola Superior Agrária de Santarém (ESAS), Margarida Oliveira.
The purpose of the visit was to get to know CoLAB's facilities and technological equipment and to find out a little more about its work and the different areas of activity being explored by the five departments.
Speaking to Rádio Elvas, Fernando Alexandre said that “in Elvas, there is an excellent example in InnovPlantProtect, which attracts national and foreign PhDs, who are research staff that are key to development”.
Also accompanying the visit were department directors Cristina Azevedo, Ilaria Marengo and David Learmonth, and Manisha Sirsat, an InPP researcher, who was representing Ricardo Ramiro.
We can only thank the minister for his visit.
Image credits: InnovPlantProtect - Hadi Sheikhnejad
Português 
English