The Portuguese AKIS Platform - a digital agricultural community

Over 2,000 farmers, advisors, researchers, innovation support entities, and many others have already registered on the Portuguese AKIS Platform, which was launched in November 2025 by the Portuguese CAP Network, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture. The platform is not only a permanent repository of information to share results from innovation projects, but also functions as a social hub, offering users the opportunity to connect through thematic groups and many other collaborative features. Maria Custódia Correia, National CAP Network, Portugal, explains: “The platform is a veritable online ecosystem which enhances cooperation and strengthens knowledge flows.” Ultimately, it aims to build an online community which can contribute to the competitiveness and sustainability of the agricultural sector.

The Portuguese AKIS Platform is designed to be a long-term, national hub and centralised resource centre, reducing the fragmentation of information within the national AKIS. Maria explains: “The sustainability and accessibility of the information were an issue, as knowledge and project results were often dispersed and difficult for users to locate and reuse.”

Users register on the platform for free and upload information from their innovative projects, including EIP-AGRI Operational Groups, research initiatives and networks. Synergies are created, as users can set up and join different types of collaborative thematic groups and organise online training modules, webinars and e-learning modules. They can also create mini project sites within the platform. “This feature ensures that results are preserved and made available, allowing partners to maintain interaction even after a project has ended,” says Maria.

Almost 16,000 entries have already been uploaded, and 105 thematic groups have been established. In a survey carried out in February 2026, over 50% of respondents said they used the platform regularly (weekly or monthly), while 80% rated its usefulness as either four or five out of five. For apple producer Cristóvão Ferreira, “The platform is important for streamlining communication between research and production, for sharing agricultural practices, and also for connecting with the end consumer.”

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