Le 17/12/2024
Fundão: Boosting Productivity and Resilience Through Agricultural Innovation
Portugal’s Cherry Capital Provides Fertile Ground for New Technology
Fundão, Portugal has ideal conditions for growing fruit, olives, almonds and robots. It’s widely known as Portugal's Cherry Capital, but it also has a robust agtech industry.
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Like many agricultural areas, Fundão faces a shrinking labor population. To remain competitive, Fundão has embraced new technology and hosts an annual exhibition dedicated to agricultural innovations.
“Artificial intelligence and robotics are revolutionizing the way we cultivate and harvest food,” said Dr. Pedro Neto, Councilman of the Municipality of Fundão. “Over the last decade, agriculture has undergone immense digital transformation, evolving from a rustic and manual environment into a highly technological and sophisticated one. Robotics and AI technologies are poised to address long-standing challenges in the sector, from planting and harvesting, to pest and disease management, to making agriculture more efficient and sustainable.”
The Municipality of Fundão has placed internationalization and innovation at the core of its strategic policies. Since 2012, initiatives like the Living Lab Cova da Beira and the Centro AGROTECH have fostered innovation ecosystems with significant economic and social impacts.
This future-forward strategy appears to be paying off. According to data from PORDATA and the National Statistics Institute, the number of agricultural companies and associated business revenue grew significantly in the region between 2012 and 2019.
This growth is largely driven by an ecosystem that includes municipal structures like the FAB LAB Aldeias de Xisto and the Centro AGROTECH, as well as partners like SF Colab, INOVTECHAGRO, INIAV, and COTNHCC. These entities anchor investments and foster the creation of new companies while supporting the modernization and capacity-building of existing ones.
Through the Centro AGROTECH, the municipality offers infrastructures like the LORA Network, the Municipal Network of Weather Stations, Intelligent Trap Networks, Training and Capacity-Building Centres, an Agro-Food Experimental Unit and Experimental Farms. These facilities enable farmers to test innovative agricultural solutions in real-world contexts, fostering digitalization as a driver of productivity and climate resilience. The aim is to consolidate a development and validation ecosystem for IoT solutions in agriculture, promoting a sustainable and efficient agricultural future.
The Fundão Agricultural Innovation Fair
The Fundão Agricultural Innovation Fair (FIAF) is an annual event where farmers can discover a variety of innovative equipment for the agroindustry. Technological and innovative solutions include remote animal georeferencing systems, virtual fencing and smart grazing systems, innovative irrigation systems for low-cost sustainable water use, cutting-edge fertilization systems and intelligent pest monitoring traps among others.
“We realized that there were no events exclusively dedicated to agricultural innovation in the region, and even nationally, there are very few,” Neto said. “This is a barrier to technology adoption. Farmers need a clear and objective understanding of the advantages of new technologies and the opportunity to witness them functioning in real-world scenarios.
“FIAF addresses this gap, aiming to be a benchmark in agrotech both nationally and internationally,” said Neto. “We envision its future as a gateway for international agricultural innovation in Europe and as a landmark event for showcasing and demonstrating agricultural innovations, including those from our region.”
The number of exhibitors at FIAF has increased dramatically over the years. The most recent edition hosted nearly 250 companies showcasing the best innovations in the agricultural sector.
The agricultural experimentation area has also grown. Previously, equipment testing was concentrated on a single day. At FIAF 2024, however, tests had to be distributed over three days due to the number of companies presenting their projects.
“We hope FIAF 2025 (3-6 July) will solidify our event as the largest agricultural innovation event in the region and one of the most significant in the country,” said Neto.
Meeting Demand Sustainably
The new technology taking root in Fundão goes beyond robots and AI. The municipality seeks to equip regions with the necessary infrastructure to meet food demands while combating farmland abandonment and driving rural economic development.
A variety of solutions are being developed to help farmers sustainably and efficiently increase food production. Precision farming, where farmers can manage water resources and issue commands via a mobile device, is just one example. There are also drones that collect information about trees, soil and pests. Other companies seek to bridge the gap between urban consumers and agricultural realities, developing tools that allow consumers to follow crop progress via an online store or social media platforms.
The Municipality of Fundão recognizes the importance of territorial competitiveness and specialization. Ongoing initiatives include promoting quality, developing and marketing brands, establishing commercial networks and directly supporting farmers.
Learn more about the opportunities and developments taking place in Fundão at World Fira 2025. Attendees can meet with representatives from Câmara Municipal Do Fundão in the Expo Zone 4-6 February 2025.
Related Reading
GOFAR Interview with Dr. Pedro Neto