BIOVEGEN promotes plant-based innovation at its 2025 Assembly

• The leading association in agricultural biotechnology is holding its annual meeting with a gathering that positions innovation as a key tool for the sector's competitiveness in an increasingly demanding context for sustainable biosolutions.
• More than 100 professionals from the agricultural biotechnology sector from leading national and international organizations participated in the event.
• The event allowed for the scheduling of more than 80 bilateral meetings to promote science-business contact and the development of public-private partnerships..

On April 3, 2025, the session "Boosting Plant Innovation" organized by BIOVEGEN – Plant Biotechnology Technology Platform – was successfully held at the CEOE headquarters in Madrid. The event, already established and a benchmark in the sector, brought together more than 100 professionals from agricultural and biotechnology companies, researchers, and leading institutions both nationally and internationally. The in-person event, open to the entire sector, aimed to showcase the potential of plant biotechnology to address current challenges facing the agri-food sector.

The event focused on various emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, genetic improvement, and genome editing, highlighting the key role these tools are playing in achieving more efficient, sustainable, resilient, and competitive agriculture. Along these lines, the opening ceremony, led by José Pellicer, president of BIOVEGEN; Raúl Natividad, vice president of the CEOE R&D&I Commission; and Isabel Allona, director of the CBGP (UPM-INIA-CSIC), highlighted the strategic role of plant biotechnology in addressing the sector's current challenges. They agreed on the need to create an environment that facilitates the technological development and implementation of these technologies in the market.

The day began with a presentation by David Posé, a professor at the University of Malaga, who presented his work on the regulation of ripening and pathogen defense in strawberry fruits. During his presentation, Posé demonstrated various molecular tools that can be used to improve postharvest fruit quality and increase resistance to diseases, such as those caused by the fungus. Botrytis cinerea, a key line to reduce crop losses and prolong its useful life.

Raquel Sánchez, a researcher at CEBAS-CSIC, continued with the academic project block, presenting various improvement strategies they have implemented to increase the productivity of various fruit trees by studying their physiological behavior under conditions of water stress and other limiting factors, combined with selection and genetic improvement techniques.

Federico Grau, CEO of Madeinplant, presented his work on the development of new functional proteins for the genetic improvement of strategic crops. Along these lines, the CEO of Madeinplant presented the project entitled "Characterization, optimization, and validation of new Cas proteins for the genetic improvement of strategic crops in the Valencian Community," which he is leading in collaboration with other key stakeholders in the Valencian Community.

Enrique Niza, founder of NAPLATEC and NANOLIFE, addressed the enormous potential of nanotechnology as a transformative tool for agriculture, highlighting its use in the development of nanoparticles that enable more efficient release of compounds of interest, offering a nanoagriculture alternative to reduce pesticide use. This disruptive technology, he explained, not only improves the efficacy of treatments but also reduces environmental impact and aligns with the regulatory trend toward reducing the use of pesticides.

The session continued with a section focused on business development and financing for agrobiotech initiatives through the services offered by the international firm Arcano Partners and the Cajamar Innova acceleration program, which recently published the 2nd Agrotech Startup Call. Along these lines, both speakers emphasized the need to continue supporting projects, startups, spin-offs, and technology-based companies seeking to scale innovation and technology transfer.

To close the session, the director of FRUIT ATTRACTION, María José Sánchez, presented the new features and strategic lines that will be featured in the next edition of FRUIT ATTRACTION 2025, an international trade fair for the fruit and vegetable sector that will be held in Madrid on September 30 and October 1 and 2, 2025, where agrobiotechnological innovation will be represented in the Innova & Tech area.

With all this, the event was closed by Carlos de la Cruz, Director of Technology and Internationalization at the CDTI (Centre for Technology and Internationalization), who emphasized the importance of maintaining the momentum of R&D through solid public policies and tools that promote the generation of collaborative innovation projects.

In addition, the BIOVEGEN Session: "Boosting Plant Innovation" offered attendees the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings between technology providers and demanders in designated venues, scheduling more than 80 meetings to foster the development of potential collaborations.

Program and presentations

10:00 a.m. BIOVEGEN General Assembly (HYBRID session. Exclusive for BIOVEGEN members)

11:30 a.m. Networking

12:00 h. BIOVEGEN session “Promoting plant innovation” (PRESENTIAL Session. Open to the entire sector. Priority assistance for BIOVEGEN partners)

• CEOE. Raúl Natividad. Vice President of the CEOE R&D&I Commission and President of the CEIM R&D&I and Digitalization Commission
• INIA-CSIC. Isabel Allona. Director of the CBGP (UPM-INIA-CSIC)
• BIOVEGEN. José Pellicer. President BIOVEGEN

12:10 h. Regulating ripening and defense against pathogens in strawberry fruits

• David Pose. Professor at the University of Malaga

12:30 p.m. Improving the productivity of fruit trees

• Rachel Sanchez. Researcher at the Segura Centre for Soil Science and Applied Biology (CEBAS-CSIC)

12:50 h. Developing new proteins for genetic improvement of strategic crops

• Federico Grau. CEO MADEINPLANT

13:10 h. Nanotechnology, small structures with a great impact on sustainable agriculture

• Enrique Nice. Founder of NAPLATEC and NANOLIFE

13:30 h. Financing and accelerating agrobiotech companies

• ARCANUM PARTNERS. Unai Castañon.  Partner responsible for the Food & Beverage sector

• CAJAMAR INNOVATES. Juan Carlos Gazquez. Deputy Director CAJAMAR INNOVA

14:10 h. FRUIT & BIOTECH ATTRACTION 2025: promoting technological development in the agricultural sector

• FRUIT ATTRACTION 2025. María José Sánchez. Director FRUIT ATTRACTION

• BIOTECH ATTRACTION 2025. Gonzaga Ruiz de Gauna. BIOVEGEN Manager 

2:30 p.m. Conclusions and closing

• CDTI. Carlos de la Cruz. Director of Technology and Internationalization

14:45 h. Cocktail networking