IITAA

MISSION

Agriculture is an important aspect of the Azorean society, taking part both in the local culture and economy. Being agriculture the central theme of CITA-A’s research, this unit is naturally endowed to easily interact with the main cultural and economic forces in the Archipelago. Historically, CITA-A has played a central role as an effector of change in the Azorean agricultural mentality. It is presently working on changing the mentality from an efficiency-driven agriculture to a more sustainable production mode. To achieve this aim, CITA-A has benefited from its natural insertion in the production environment, organizing conferences and joint problem-oriented research (such as water quality, soil fertility surveys, forage and silage quality, milk and cheese quality). Knowledge transmission is largely facilitated by the fact that many agricultural technicians have worked with CITA-A at least during part of their education

Aims:

a) Conduct research on cattle reproduction (ultra structural characterization of zona pellucida, antioxidant effects on oocyte maturation and further embryo development after in vitro fertilization) and sheep reproduction control. Write and submission of manuscripts for publication on these topics. Conduct bibliographic research aimed to write a review paper on seasonality of reproduction in sheep.

b) Conduct research on the effects of pasturing all year round of bulls and dairy cows upon various parameters of animal performance and product quality (milk, carcass and beef). Conduct research on the manipulation of the diet based on pasture supplemented with cereals, vegetable and fish oils, in order to improve the dietetic and nutritional value (e.g. favourable fatty acids including CLA) of bovine milk and meat.

c) Conduct research on soil nutrient cycles and fertility.

d) Conduct research aimed to establish reliable indicators of energy use by the Azorean dairy farms for mathematical modelling.