«I am proud to be a member of a centre of excellence in scientific research,» says Dayalis Pardo Martínez, a human capital management specialist at the Bioplant Centre, attached to the Máximo Gómez Báez University (Unica) in the province of Ciego de Ávila.

It was recently announced that her laboratory colleagues had achieved the 2025 National Award of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba, with the Avilanian institution being the lead executor in two award-winning projects.

The award went to «Bioproducts from Nicotiana tabacum and Morinda royoc: A biotechnological strategy for sustainable agriculture,» recognised in the Agricultural and Fisheries Sciences category.

The study, developed in collaboration with entities from Cuba and other countries, proposes alternatives for biological control of phytopathogens based on plant extracts obtained with nationally produced solvents, with the potential to reduce the use of harmful agrochemicals.

The other award corresponded to «Contributions to the phytochemistry, pharmacology and conservation of plants growing in the east-central region of Cuba,» recognised in Natural and Exact Sciences, research that integrates the study of four endemic or threatened plant species with results published in 23 scientific articles.

Meanwhile, Lisbeth Pérez Bonachea, also from Bioplant, won a mention in the Young Researchers in Agricultural Sciences category.

As a trade unionist and one of the seven direct delegates from Ciego de Ávila to the final sessions of the 22nd Congress of the Cuban Workers’ Federation, scheduled for 26 and 27 of this month, Dayalis also feels immense pride «because, amidst the adversities facing the country, our Bioplant Centre and the Máximo Gómez Báez University reaffirm their scientific potential, and we do not stop in the face of challenges in knowledge management and the effort to achieve sustainability, fundamentally in the agri-food and environmental programmes.»