Nearest University of Basilicata (Italy) and Polytechnic of Portalegre

As part of an ERASMUS partnership, the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre received a group of 12 students from the degree in Agronomy and the Master’s degree in Precision Agriculture from the University of Basilicata, in Italy. The visit was coordinated by associate professor Paola D’Antonio and research assistant Costanza Fiorentino and began with a reception by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Portugal to exchange knowledge within the scope of projects from both institutions.

Once the visit began in Alentejo, the group got in touch with the agricultural reality of the region, visiting some entities in the agricultural sector – Association of Breeders of the Alentejo Cattle Breed and Association of Mertolengo Cattle Breeders, and research – National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research – Elvas hub, making clear the importance of the agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystem in the occupation of the territory, as well as the genetic heritage, both in terms of plant selection and native breeds.

As the University of Basilicata is an international member/partner of InovTechAgro (National Skills Center for Technological Innovation in the Agroforestry Sector, whose presidency is shared between the Polytechnic of Portalegre and the National Association of Maize and Sorghum Producers), the group met on site the work carried out at this center in terms of precision agriculture and digitalization with the visit to the Escola Superior de Biociências de Elvas and the experimental pilot 1 which is located at Herdade da Comenda (INIAV, IP hub in Elvas).

This stay also allowed a visit to the incubator of technology-based companies at the Polytechnic of Portalegre, BioBIP, where the group got in touch with the work carried out in the area of ​​bioenergy.

According to the Polytechnic of Portalegre, with this visit «it was possible to learn about and share new realities of agricultural teaching between Portugal and Italy, to expand the forms of collaboration between the Polytechnic of Portalegre and the University of Basilicata, particularly in terms of sharing academic skills in the training offer, research projects and student exchange within the scope of academic theses and strengthen institutional cooperation ties with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Portugal».