The Catalan Minister of Research and Universities has visited today Agrotecnio’s headquarters as part of his visit to Lleida, where he also took part in the closing ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the ETSEAFiV and had the opportunity to see another CERCA centre in the capital of Lleida, IRB Lleida. Nadal has ratified the support to Agrotecnio of the department he leads, with a support that will allow the centre to continue with the steady growth that began last year.
During his visit to Agrotecnio, Nadal met with the centre’s director, José Antonio Bonet; two researchers, Paul Christou and Teresa Capell; the rector of the University of Lleida, Jaume Puy; and the director of the ETSEAFiV, Jordi Graell. The director of Agrotecnio explained the main lines of research of Agrotecnio as well as the growth prospects for 2024, both possible thanks to the support of the Government of Catalonia through the Department of Research and Universities and the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda.
Nadal was able to visit a laboratory of the Applied Plant Biotechnology group, where researcher Teresa Capell explained how they are working on genetically edited real crops of maize, rice and wheat to make them resistant to pests, drought or useful for making enriched food and feed that provide vitamins or even block the development of diseases such as AIDS.
