New BIOVEGEN partner: SERIDA

A new entity has recently joined BIOVEGEN as a partner. The Regional Agri-Food Research and Development Service (SERIDA) is the instrument of the Principality of Asturias at the service of R&D&I in the agri-food field and contributes with its activity to the modernization and improvement of the capabilities of the regional agri-food sector.

From its two headquarters in Villaviciosa and Gijón and its experimental farms in Illano and La Mata (Grado) and with a staff of 162 workers including researchers, technologists and administrative support staff, in laboratories and in the field, SERIDA maintains a close linkage with the countryside and continuous collaboration with the main agents of the agri-food sector: associations, cooperatives, protected geographical indications (PGI), protected designations of origin (DOP), agri-food companies and individuals.

SERIDA's activity is developed around four main axes:

1-Research, Development and Innovation Activity
As a public research organization, integrated into the National Network of Agri-Food R&D&I Centers coordinated between the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) and the autonomous communities, SERIDA seeks innovative and competitive responses and solutions to the needs of the countryside and the agri-food industry of Asturias. At this time, it has more than 20 active research projects with regional, national and international funding, focused on different topics, among which those related to Agriculture and Forestry, the Sustainability of productions and ecosystems, and also Livestock and Food Technology.

2-Technological Transfer and Consulting Activity
Another of the pillars of SERIDA's activity is the transfer of knowledge generated by research activity to the Asturian agri-food sector, which actively demands this support that allows it to innovate its production system and improve its profitability. SERIDA maintains agreements and collaboration agreements with more than 40 companies, associations and cooperatives, which facilitate the transfer of information and developed technology to their end users.

3- Conservation of Genetic Resources
The conservation and recovery of local fruit and vegetable and forest varieties, or microorganisms that are involved in different product manufacturing processes, are not only important from a conservation point of view, but also represent an opportunity for the development of new products. The present and future challenge is not only in the collection and conservation of these local resources, but in their characterization and the exploration of their possibilities of use and contribution to the production system, without forgetting the environmental aspects.

Aware of this, SERIDA has been developing important activity in this field for years, launching different actions that have made possible the creation of a Genetic Resources Bank that includes plant, animal (native livestock breeds) and microbial materials, and that They constitute a collection of incalculable value not only for SERIDA, but for society in general, since they are the heritage of
the same.

4-Training Activity
SERIDA organizes training sessions for professionals in the sector, which are in high demand as they focus on very current topics close to the producer and because they offer an innovative vision, the result of the researchers' experience. The cultivation of the apple tree and its problems is one of the topics on which SERIDA receives the greatest training demand, but training courses are also organized on various topics related to the agricultural and livestock fields.