On 12 and 13 September, LIFE Maronesa took part in the ResAlliance workshop, organised by the CEF – Centre for Forestry Studies of the Instituto Superior de Agronomia and the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro.
On the first day, in a plenary session in the auditorium of UTAD’s Geosciences department, some of the findings and results of the work carried out as part of the project, were discussed and presented by our scientific coordinator Carlos Aguiar.
The following day, the same audience, in an on-site session led by Maronese cattle breeders Mário Queirós and Rafael Costa, had the opportunity to walk through part of the silvo-pastoral mosaic of the Bilhó common land in Mondim de Basto.
Together with members of the project team, the curiosities and questions raised during the previous day’s plenary session were answered. It was possible to see the work carried out by the Maronese cattle on the marginal lands and the results of the herbaceous cover that is intended to be achieved in these areas.
The profitability of the economic activity of the breeders was also questioned, as were the bureaucratic obstacles to a simpler and lighter application of good practices in the day-to-day life of the breeder, for optimum productive and sustainable management of community and private areas.
At lunchtime, the participants were able to taste a delicious snack prepared by our usual CLIMA+ brand partner, the Forno de Jales restaurant. After demonstrating the benefits of the extensive model of the LIFE Maronesa project on a tour with the breeders, the participants were able to appreciate the increased gastronomic and economic value brought by the chefs and other players in the chain of processing and commercialising the products of extensive grazing.