From 23 to 26 may 2013, will be held in Bragança, NERBA, the event EXPO Trás-os-Montes, organized to promote the region and to show the technological and scientific knowledge developed by local research entities and particularly oriented to the productivity of regional companies. Different research areas, covering the development and innovation of regional products, will be presented by several CIMO investigators (http://www.expotrasosmontes.com/agenda/).

Richard Lansdown, Chair IUCN SSC Freshwater Plant Specialist Group, visited the northern region of Portugal. Several field surveys were conducted in aquatic ecosystems of the rivers Tua and Sabor. Furthermore, future collaborations including the development of joint research projects were established with CIMO investigators.

Researchers at the Federal Institute Spirit of Brazil visited the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança on 15 and 16 May 2013. Particular emphasis was given to a meeting schedule organized with researchers CIMO, namely in the establishment of joint research areas, involving the mobility of teachers and students and the potential application in future projects. The IFES delegation was led by Professor Roquemar Baldam, Director of Research Postgraduate IFES and counted with the presence of other researchers in different specialized areas:   Patrícia Fontes (Vegetal Production), João Pavesi Simão (Soils), Pedro Mendonça (Aquaculture) and Robson Meireles (Plant Production).

The Permanent Secretary of Agriculture Ministry of Mozambique, Daniel Ângelo Campelo, visited the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança and a protocol of collaboration was signed with IPB in order to contribute for the agriculture development of Mozambique, including the scientific cooperation and the participation of Mountain Investigation Centre (CIMO).

The last meeting of the Euromontana direction board, with the presence of the Vice-Coordinator of CIMO, Dr Miguel Vilas Boas occurred in the beginning of April in Brussels. Several important documents were discussed and approved in particularly “Toward Mountains 2020”, a strategic approach for the development of mountain areas, the new European regulation proposal for the labeling of “Mountain products” and the report from the European Network for Rural Development on priority research themes for mountain farming and Innovation in agri-food supply chains.

The CIMO Board for the 2013-2017 period was recently elected and is composed by:

• Coordinator: Jaime Camilo Maldonado Pires
• Vice-Coordinator: Miguel José Rodrigues Vilas Boas
• Principal Investigator of Mountain Farming Systems Group: Margarida Maria Arrobas Rodrigues
• Principal Investigator of Food Science and Technology Group: Isabel Cristina Fernandes Rodrigues Ferreira
• Principal Investigator of Marginal Land Ecosystem Services Group: Amílcar António Teiga Teixeira

Elections for Principal Investigators of CIMO research groups took place on February 6. Dr. Margarida Arrobas has been re-elected for a second term as PI of the Mountain Farming Systems group whereas Dr. Isabel Ferreira has been elected for her first term as PI in the Food Science and Technology group. The election in the Marginal Land Ecosystem Services has been postponed to Feb. 27.

Five scientific research and technological development (SR&TD) projects lead by CIMO researchers have recently been selected for funding by FCT. 

These projects cover a wide range of areas of expertise of CIMO researchers, namely olive tree orchards ecology and management, food safety of local meat products, and bee and sweet chestnut pests and diseases. Additionally, they deal with crops, products, and ecological and economical issues relevant at the regional, national and international levels, approached from a problem solving perspective, thus strongly contributing to CIMO mission and objectives.

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The Final Report of the Fórum CIMO 2012 is now available at the webpage of the conference. The document can also be downloaded HERE.

Dr. Miguel Vilas-Boas has been reconducted recently as Vice-Coordinator of CIMO.