“Sementes Duradouras” project wins Crédito Agrícola award
The 11th edition of the award recognized Ana Paula Santos' project, “Sementes Duradouras” (“Long Living Seeds”), in the category of Response to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses.
The winning project explores seed treatments and products to increase longevity and tolerance to stress situations. The main purpose is to understand the biochemical and epigenetic mechanisms that are associated with the loss of seed viability and the response to stress, to protect seeds, and ensure high germination rates and plant vigor.
“The impact of this project in terms of sustainability is enormous if we think about countries like Portugal, that are highly dependent on importation, representing a risk to food security.”, explains Ana Paula Santos. “In the long term, this project can help minimize the dependence of importation, which is important to ensure some resilience of Portuguese agriculture in situations of climate change or other crisis, such as wars that can affect the seed import chain.”
The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Award of Crédito Agrícola highlights cutting-edge projects that drive innovation, economic development, and environmental sustainability in the agricultural, agri-food, and forestry sectors.
