Kicking Off POMATO: A Strong Start in Burgos, Spain

On May 13–14, 2025, the POMATO Project officially launched with a dynamic two-day Kick-off Meeting hosted by the Universidad de Burgos (UBU), bringing together all consortium partners to set the course for this ambitious EU-funded initiative.

The meeting opened with a warm institutional welcome by UBU’s Vice-Rector for Research and a keynote from the European Commission Project Officer, underlining the strategic importance of the POMATO mission: to safeguard the health and quality of potato and tomato crops by combating outbreaks of Clavibacter sepedonicus (Cs) and Ralstonia solanacearum (Rs).

Raquel Hernández Ruiz, the POMATO Co-Principal Investigator, laid the groundwork with an in-depth presentation of the project’s concept, objectives, and expected impacts. Her talk set the tone for the collaborative spirit that defined the two-day gathering.

Day 1 focused on building a shared understanding of project goals and responsibilities. Partners introduced their organizations, roles in the project, and key team members. Subsequent sessions covered project management, financial and administrative procedures, and the start of technical work with in-depth presentations of WP1, WP2, and WP3. 

Day 2 shifted to forward planning, with each Work Package leader presenting the strategy for their respective domains, from natural biocontrol solutions (WP4), and IPM validation and policy integration (WP5), to dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and exploitation (WP6). The meeting closed with interactive working sessions to define next steps, responsibilities, and short-term actions.

The Kick-off Meeting not only confirmed the consortium’s technical strength and motivation, but also marked the beginning of a collaborative journey rooted in science, sustainability, and international cooperation. With a clear roadmap and energized team, POMATO is ready to deliver innovative solutions for resilient agriculture.