On 21 April 2024, the LIFE Maronesa project had the pleasure of hosting the first networking activity of the Farmers Innovation Science Hub project, made up of a consortium between three organisations from three European countries. Spain is represented by IMAGINA, an educational consultancy company specialising in training and leisure projects, Italy by We Do FabLab, an association dedicated to technological innovation and digital fabrication, and finally, representing Portugal, our well-known Terra Maronesa Association.
The Farmers Innovation Science Hub (FISH) project, part of the ERASMUS+ programme, has as its main objective the promotion of environmental sustainability and food safety through the implementation of innovative techniques that optimise the use of resources, especially water.
The tour of Trás-os-Montes began with a visit to the Maronesa Breeders’ Association and the Vila Real Agricultural Cooperative, where they were welcomed by engineers Paula Teixeira and Marília Orelho, who shared with the delegation a technical-scientific and cultural overview of the characteristics of the Maronesa breed, its breeders and the landscape product that results from the interaction between this complicity.
There was also time to share the strategy for implementing the commercialisation actions of the LIFE Maronesa project that ACM is in charge of, in particular the creation of the CLIMA+ label, the creation of an online shop and the adaptation of the sales and service model directly to the consumer through the implementation of a ‘mobile shop’.
At the end of the morning, the consortium was received in Alvadia at the farm of breeder Avelino Rego, where, despite the rain, the international project team toured the breeder’s entire farm, allowing them to learn in hands-on the extensive production methods of Maronesa cattle breeders and the technology and modernisation that are being increased through the implementation of LIFE Maronesa.
