Agriculture is facing a challenge that can no longer be addressed simply by acting once a problem appears. Mudanças climáticas, increasing pest and disease pressure, regulatory requirements, and new expectations from supermarkets and consumers are driving the transition towards more preventive, efficient and sustainable production models. In this context, Veganic brings together two areas that have traditionally been treated separately: plants’ natural ability to anticipate challenges and the need to guarantee safe, traceable and competitive food from the field to the point of sale.

This vision is brought to life through two complementary initiatives: NeoPrime^® tecnologia, the foundation of Plant Primers, e o Vegano Food Care project. The first focuses on plant biological communication to prepare crops before a challenge compromises their balance. The second extends this innovation across the entire agri-food chain, connecting growers, distributors and supermarkets through programmes tailored to productivity, quality, food safety and sustainability objectives.

Plants cannot move or escape, but over millions of years they have developed an extraordinary ability to perceive their environment, interpret signals and activate responses. Every change in temperature, humidity, biotic pressure or nutritional balance generates information that circulates throughout their tissues. This communication takes place through molecules, hormonal pathways and metabolic signals that function like the letters of a complex plant alphabet.

Com NeoPrime^®, Veganic studies and decodes part of this language to develop a new generation of biosolutions: Plant Primers. Their role is not to keep plants permanently on alert or trigger unnecessary energy expenditure. Instead, they act as a form of prior physiological training, helping crops recognise specific signals and activate their natural mechanisms more quickly, precisely and efficiently when they are needed. They do not impose an external response; they provide biological information that the plant interprets in order to mobilise its own resources more efficiently.

When NeoPrime^®-related compounds come into contact with the plant, they initiate a cascade of internal communication that can interact with hormonal, metabolic and genetic pathways. As a result, when an adverse situation arises, the response does not start from zero. The plant can activate certain pathways earlier, manage its energy more efficiently, reinforce its tissues or produce secondary metabolites. The result is a crop that is more prepared, balanced and resilient.

Within this process, epigenetic memory plays a particularly important role. A plant can retain information derived from previous experiences without altering its DNA sequence. What changes is the accessibility of certain genes for expression in response to new signals. In this way, the crop can respond more rapidly and precisely to future challenges. Plant Primers do not teach plants something that is foreign to their nature; rather, they reinforce capacities that are already part of their biology.

A Strategy Connecting the Field, Supermarkets and Consumers

This is where Vegano Food Care comes into play: a strategic project designed to help growers, supermarkets and distribution chains produce and market fruit and vegetables aligned with quality, sustainability, productivity and food safety requirements.

The programme is based on customised Manejo Integrado de Pragas protocols, biocontrol tools, soil health strategies and solutions aimed at improving the agricultural microbiota. These programmes are designed and implemented jointly by Veganic’s technical team and farm managers, taking into account the specific needs of each crop and supply chain.

The objective is to reduce dependence on synthetic chemical products without compromising agronomic efficacy or grower profitability. At the same time, the model facilitates compliance with maximum residue limits, improves traceability, reduces the risk of commercial rejections and helps distributors secure a more consistent supply base. Supermarkets can therefore make progress towards their sustainability and food safety commitments without having to directly manage technical operations at farm level.

The Connection Between NeoPrime^® e Food Care Represents an Evolution in Agriculture

Plant Primers prepare the plant to respond more effectively; Food Care organises the production system so that this capacity translates into measurable results throughout the entire value chain. Innovation is no longer limited to a single product but becomes a collaborative model based on biological information, agronomic knowledge, prevention and technical monitoring.

Results presented by Veganic from a snack cucumber crop in Almería demonstrate the potential of this approach. According to field data, the programme achieved a 55% redução no uso de produtos químicos sintéticos, maintained efficacy against pests and diseases, resulted in ten times fewer residues at harvest, reduced chemical active ingredients by 60%, and increased production by 13%. In addition, a positive return of close to one euro per square metre was recorded for the grower.

These Results Point to an Essential Conclusion: Sustainability and Competitiveness Do Not Have to Move in Opposite Directions

When biology, technology and supply-chain strategy are properly integrated, it is possible to reduce environmental impact, improve food quality and protect the profitability of those who produce it.

The future of the agri-food sector will not depend solely on applying more solutions, but on better understanding living systems and coordinating all the stakeholders involved. Through NeoPrime^® and Veganic Food Care, Veganic proposes an agricultural model that anticipates challenges, trains the plant and connects field knowledge with consumer needs. An agriculture capable of acting earlier, producing better and delivering safer, more sustainable food from its very origin.