The Living Lab VASO has his origin in 1984, where Participatory Plant Breeding on maize started in Sousa Valley Region and latter on developed to include not only farmers and breeders but also other actors essential for the network of value can be successful. An update is provided regarding the multi-actor activities in the developing of new and improved crop varieties specifically for organic and sustainable farming under the LiveSeeding project by ESAC-IPC.

Building Relationships
The kickoff LL VASO was initiated on February 15th, 2023, at COPAGRI Auditorium in Lousada and its presentation was followed by a presentation and discussion of the “Valorization of maize landraces” among the participants (12). This session allowed to present the history, the activities that have been done, such as previous meetings, trials results of previous years, trials planning requests in which seed request and details needed for implementation of a trial (e.g. homogeneity of the field trial, the importance of the borders in a field experiment, the need to transition for organic). In addition, CERTRA project which aims to valorize the production of traditional cereals and promote added-value food products was also announced.
Field Trials: Fostering Collaboration Through Research
In 2023, field trials were established to assess the performance of various traditional maize varieties with gastronomic potential, under both organic and conventional conditions. These trials fostered collaboration among farmers, researchers, millers, and students, contributing for knowledge sharing and innovation network.
The farm day meeting “Evaluating Traditional Varieties” was held on September 19th, 2023, at ESAC-IPC, Caldeirão, with the aims of evaluating 30 traditional maize varieties in organic farming. 47 participants, including farmers, millers, students, and researchers, attended the meeting and all contributed to the SEEDLINKED evaluation (digital tool), in which four varieties were surveyed in two replications.
On-farm trials survey, by researchers, farmers, and millers using SEEDLINKED on white Maize Varieties (four varieties, evaluated at ESAC-IPC, plus one), occurred at Bitarães, Lousada on the October 3rd, 2023, with an afternoon session held at the COPAGRI Auditorium, where the project plus the preliminary data were presented.

Translating Data into Actionable Insights
On February 1st, 2024, the agronomic results from trials at Coimbra and Lousada were presented to the key actors at COPAGRI Auditorium. This session aimed to analyze the findings and establish effective strategies to select varieties and search for solutions for production and marketing that can feed the chain value, i.e., questions such as: what varieties to produce? How to strength farmers, millers, bakers, and consumers engagement.
Planning the Next Campaign: A Commitment to Continuous Improvement
On April 11th, 2024, at Paços de Perreira Cooperative a meeting was organized to present VASO program its present and future in the region, during this meeting the results of field trials of 2023 were presented, and it was a moment for discussion and to engage new farmers in the PPB project. Some of the crucial questions emerged such as the varieties that can be used, the price and who will buy, the opportunity to stress the importance of agroecological transition and organic agriculture was stressed. Due to the emergence of seed supply, for the 2024 sowing season, on the April 19th, the delivery of seeds was made and a query to farmers was also requested.
Data collected will be analyzed and present, both on LiveSeeding so as Scientific Journals and other scientific or technical activities. In the meantime, our team is actively engaged in planning the next campaign.


Authors: Pereira A.; Neves R., Dinis I.; Mendes-Moreira P.