Agro-food sector traditionally has a reduced investment in R&D, when comparing with other production sectors. If we want to capitalize the by nature unique competitive characteristics that Portugal has in this sector, not only targeted research efforts need to be increased but we should also be looking at innovative, cutting-edge and audacious solutions. The need for innovation in this sector has been recognized in the Portuguese Strategy for Smart Specialisation. This innovation should go towards an agricultural sustainable production and increasing productivity while preventing risks arising from climate change, protecting the environment and promoting resources efficiency and valuing the endogenous resources. Indeed, this sustainable increase in production will have to occur while climate is changing and becoming less predictable. Overall temperature raising, warmer winter minimum temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, and water shortages are directly aiding the aggressiveness and spreading of insect pests. Changes in climate variability may also be significant, affecting the predictability and amplitude of outbreaks but also the activity and abundance of natural enemies. Together this may affect the efficacy of current crop protection technologies: pest control measures such as host-plant resistance, natural enemies, bio-pesticides, and synthetic chemicals are likely to change as a result of climate change.
Strategies that rely on functional organisms that inhabit the potential pest insect are intrinsically less susceptible to external environment variations. For such a strategy, one needs to primarily tackle a set of issues specifically for the target pest:
(i) evaluate the microbial community structure;
(ii) define the key microorganisms; and
(iii) plan the strategy to restore the suitable climax community.