CERTRA

The production of cereals for bread making declined in the 1980s, because Portugal entered into the European Community and the inability of local actors, their structures, and organisations to compete in the open market.

This project aims to create the foundations for the return to local production of cereals for human consumption in Portugal, and to support an integrated process of developing value chains based on traditional germplasm, establishing relationships between production, processing, transformation, and quality consumption.

This project also intends to test ways of making family farming viable by constructing a production differentiation strategy (organic production method, use of traditional varieties, terroir). These forms involve the use of new approaches to the market, aligning production with new trends, building a short food supply chain, and approaching quality markets. One of the possibilities for adding value to traditional cereals is the integration of quality bread (traditional variety cereal, organic production method) in public procurement processes for schools and other institutions.

This dynamic opens doors to the continuation of educational work with children, young people, and adults, around aspects of healthy eating, sustainability, agrobiodiversity, and informed and responsible consumption.

Keywords:  Sustainable food; Traditional cereals

Principal Investigator: Vânia Sofia Santos Ribeiro

Research Team

• ciTechCare: Cidália Pereira
• LSRE-LCM-IPLeiria – Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering – Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials: Daniela Vaz,

Duration: 60 months (2023 – 2028)