ALFREDO MORA-VARGAS

I studied Agrarian Sciences at the University of Turin.

I’ve been working at Laimburg Research Centre since 2019 and am responsible for the “BIOFRUITNET – Boosting innovation in organic fruit production through stronger networks” project. This project focuses on the organic production of pome fruits, stone fruits, and citrus fruits and has the goal of boosting the competitiveness of organically grown fruit production in Europe. The objective is to collect and collate existent scientific and practical knowledge on ecological fruit cultivation to be disseminates throughout the E.U. via more accessible formats like e-learning, podcasts, videos, and short articles. The project is also intended to strengthen already established networks in the field of ecological fruit-growing and forming connections between them to stimulate the exchange of know-how between organic fruit producers and various interest groups.

For me, one special highlight in 2021 was the conference in Bari where the findings of two years of research were presented. Together with the invited actors, the most innovative results and best practices in the field of ecological fruit-growing were determined.

I was especially proud of the fact that, thanks to the participation of organic producers and consultants, we were able to reveal the strengths of ecological fruit growing – but also its weaknesses. Thus, we were able to determine where more research was needed to close existent gaps.

What I like most about my work at Laimburg Research Centre? The investigations and research activities of the different work packages making up this project. Besides that, I really enjoy my work in my working group “Organic farming”.