The financing that was foreseen in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, destined for the Agricultural Innovation Hubs of Tavira and Faro was reinforced by almost 120 thousand euros, following an ordinance dated March 22, announced the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR), where the now-defunct Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries was recently integrated.
This amount reinforces the more than 2 million euros that the program had already allocated to various projects to be carried out in these two innovation hubs that “aim to promote and support experimental development, demonstration and transfer of knowledge and technology, giving priority to partnerships with various entities, public and private, in the administration, scientific and technological system, education and training, associations and companies in the agri-food sector», according to CCDR Algarve.
As a result of the outdated costs initially projected in the application in view of the new emerging realities, either due to the level of difficulty in acquiring materials and equipment, or due to the drastic increase in prices as a result of changes in the economic situation, a request was made for financial reinforcement in the amount of 119.860 euros.
The Tavira Innovation Hub, also known as the Tavira Agricultural Experimentation Center (CEAT), saw the amount allocated to it (1.568.382 euros) increase by 88 thousand euros. As for the Innovation Hub of Faro, there are another 30.911 thousand euros available, which will add to the original 646 thousand euros.
At the Tavira Complex, the application “envisages the rehabilitation of the headquarters building of the delegation of regional agriculture and rural development services with the complete renewal of the irrigation network, replacement of the property's fence and paving of the main road. With regard to equipment, the application includes the acquisition of: office furniture and equipment and for equipping the auditorium and laboratory; acquisition of agricultural machinery and equipment; laboratory computer and analytical equipment'.
«The deconcentrated services of Agriculture and Rural Development maintained collections of various fruit trees and vine varieties at the Tavira Innovation Hub, which occupy a total area of 7,51 hectares (ha). This genetic heritage, made up of species such as the carob tree, almond tree, fig tree, olive tree, loquat tree, apple tree, pomegranate tree and vine, brings together around 700 varieties, varieties and accessions. The characterization of traditional varieties included in collections is fundamental for determining their agronomic and environmental potential and for the purposes of registering and certifying plant material», adds CCDR Algarve.
As for the vineyard, «an important collection of clones of the emblematic Algarve grape variety Negra Mole has been maintained, consisting of 198 clones, for which there is a need for relocation, with the intention of installing this collection in the Tavira Innovation Center, to preserve this unique and very valuable heritage. Also part of the Tavira Innovation Hub are several citrus orchards, with different uses, which will be maintained during the project period, totaling 2,45 ha. In one of the repetitions of the carob tree collection, an intercropping test will be carried out with dragon fruit, a species with low water consumption, in which the support system will be studied».
The Innovation Hub of Faro, based in Patação, is an infrastructure that aims to be «a national reference for fruit and vegetable production, with particular emphasis on sustainable agricultural practices, such as the Biological Production Method, the preservation of biodiversity, the rational management of water resources, the development of social agriculture, in the area of experimentation, innovation, dissemination and transfer of technology».
This unit “has an area of approximately 12 ha, which includes buildings with various facilities, including the headquarters building for the deconcentrated services in the area of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, which brings together customer service, technical and administrative services and other support structures for agricultural activity”.
«Citrus fruits are the main regional agricultural crop and represent around 80% of national production. The largest citrus collection in the country is located at this hub, with more than 214 entries, including 91 accessions of orange trees, 41 of mandarin trees and their hybrids, 60 lemon trees, lime trees, grapefruit trees, pomel trees, kumquatos and others. A citrus fruit test in Organic Production Mode, unique in the country, has also been installed,” he describes.
The activity of the Innovation Hub Faro It also includes tests within the scope of the PRR project “Valuation of traditional genetic resources, new crops and irrigation water management in the context of climate change”, with the project also already underway. Thus, «it is planned to install a deficient irrigation test in an orange orchard, and to maintain, under shelter, mother plants of citrus varieties, subject to sanitation to obtain virus-free plant material».
Within the scope of social agriculture, the deconcentrated services in the area of agriculture and rural development provide land for horticultural crops, to the Banco Alimentar Contra a Fome do Algarve, whose production is intended for the institution's beneficiaries. Resulting from a cooperation protocol with the Municipality of Faro It is also planned to develop a project for the creation of social gardens, with a view to producing agricultural goods for self-consumption by the most disadvantaged population.
The Innovation Network will also be modernized, «through the renovation and requalification of infrastructure and equipment, the establishment of demonstration units in organic production mode and with an educational and social aspect and in the preservation and study of citrus germplasm».
Within the scope of this project, two new demonstration structures will be set up, one of which is dedicated to the Organic Production Method, called “Unit for Demonstration, Development and Dissemination of Organic Agriculture”, which includes “a citrus fruit trial, an avocado field and horticultural trial'.
The “Pedagogical Demonstration and Agricultural Dissemination Unit” is also planned, “which includes an arboretum and the Algarve Garden, made up of Mediterranean species, plots of anone trees, beans and apricot trees, fields of strerelias, cacti and succulents, green spaces and ornamental plants dispersed”.
These units “intend to publicize the work and activities of the Hub and open the structure to visits from the educational community and civil society in general, with the investment expected to be completed by December 31, 2025.
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