News & Events

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NEWS

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 11thfrom 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.

Venha visitar-nos. Esperamos por si!

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.

Image credits: InnovPlantProtect

EVENTS

This Wednesday, April 10, InnovPlantProtect (InPP) was visited by members of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The visit to the city of Elvense was intended to take stock of the implementation of the XVectors.pt project, being carried out at the InPP and funded by EFSA.

The project aims to study the biology of insect vectors of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa in Portugal, such as foam leafhoppers, one of the main insect vectors of the bacterium, which plays a key role in its spread in Europe.

InPP's executive director, Pedro Fevereiro, the director of the Pest and Disease Monitoring and Diagnosis department, Ilaria Marengo, and researchers Nuno Faria and Hadi Sheikhnejad, welcomed the team and explained the development of the XVectorspt project.

During the visit there was also the opportunity to see the facilities and technological equipment at #CoLAB and talk to some of our researchers.

Special thanks to EFSA for the visit!

More information about the project here.

Image credits: ©️InnovPlantProtect - Inês Ferreira

This weekend the SP6 - Agriculture sub-project of the project Vertical Algae, led by InnovPlantProtect (InPP), will be featured in another episode of the TECH3 series on RTP 3.

The new episode of the documentary series Algae Vertical will be broadcast on Saturday, April 6, at 6:50 p.m., with a repeat on Sunday at 3:50 p.m. It will be dedicated exclusively to agriculture and will show proposals for sustainable agricultural solutions based on biofertilizers and biopesticides created from algae biomass.

The InPP team, of course, will be in the spotlight in this episode. Excellent work from researchers Miguel Claro, Cláudia Rato da Silva, Sandra Caeiro, Francisca Rodrigues and João Colaço, and department directors Cristina Azevedo and Sandra Correia.

The program will also be available on RTP Play and on the YouTube from Algae Vertical.

Don't miss out!

Vertical Algae is co-financed by Next Generation EU, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), and is the largest initiative of the Blue Bioeconomy Agenda Pact.

Note: RTP3 programming may change without prior notice.

The Biotechnology Information Center (CiB) promotes Intellectual property & development of new plant varieties“ workshop” on the day April 8th, among the 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., no ITQB NOVA, in Oeiras.

The wokshop aims to disseminate information related to breeder's rights and patents in plants and will have four guest speakers who will analyze and debate issues such as the limitations of current legislation, the proposed regulation of New Genomic Techniques and how it will affect breeder's rights and the obtaining of new plant varieties.

The panel of experts includes Paula Garcia, Deputy Director General of the Directorate General for Food and Veterinary (DGAV), Inês Cristóvão Silva, Head of the Patents and Utility Models Department at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), Ana Barradas, Director of the Research and Development Department at Fertiprado, and Jorge Canhoto, researcher, Professor at the University of Coimbra and President of CiB.

InPP's executive director, Pedro Fevereiro, will moderate.

Participation in the event is free, but subject to registration.

See the full program in the image below.

More information and registration on the CiB website here.