The Science Behind Your Salad

^{Crossing the globe to discover how the best ingredients that end up on our tables are grown}

You can listen to all podcast episodes below on these channels

Latest Episode: Farming the River’s Edge: Food, wine and biodiversity on Portugal’s Floodplains

On the floodplains between the Tagus and Sorraia rivers, just outside Lisbon, lies one of Portugal’s most remarkable agricultural landscapes, Companhia das Lezírias.
In this episode of The Science Behind your Salad, Jane Craigie steps into a living, breathing system where cork oak forests, rice paddies, grazing cattle, and vineyards coexist, shaped by centuries of stewardship and increasingly by the demands of a changing climate. From the kitchen of estate chef Pedro Samora - where local ingredients tell stories of heritage and community - to the rice fields that define Portugal’s deep cultural connection to food, this is a journey through a place where agriculture is both tradition and innovation.

Meeting the people behind the landscape, one of the estate managers, Rui Veríssimo Batista to rice specialist João Alegria, CropLife Portugal’s João Cardoso, and BASF’s Pedro Reis, Jane explores how this vast estate is adapting. Digital tools, precision farming, and biodiversity-led practices are helping to balance productivity with environmental responsibility in a hotter, drier future.
Portugal consumes more rice per person than anywhere else in Europe, and here, that story unfolds not just in fields, but on plates, in communities, and across generations.
This episode is a sensory exploration of food, farming, and place, where past and future meet, and where agriculture works in rhythm with land, water, and nature.
A story of balance.
A story of resilience.
And a reminder that the food on our plate begins long before the kitchen.

Our guest: Rui Veríssimo Baptista

Rui Veríssimo Baptista is an agricultural engineer, farmer, and entrepreneur whose career has focused on agriculture, irrigation, and rural development. Since July 2024, he has served on the Board of Directors of Companhia das Lezírias, with a mandate running until 2026.

He has held several leadership roles within Portugal’s agricultural sector, including President of the Campilhas and Alto Sado Irrigation Association and board member of FENAREG, the National Federation of Irrigators of Portugal. He also contributes to rural and agricultural policy through organisations including Terras Dentro and the SEDES Agriculture Observatory.

Rui holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Évora and has undertaken postgraduate studies in irrigation engineering, alongside an MBA and executive training in agricultural and business management. He is also a media columnist and advocate for sustainable agriculture, water management, and the long-term environmental and economic resilience of farming.

Our guest: Pedro Reis

Pedro Reis leads the development and adoption of digital tools and transformation initiatives supporting agricultural operations and farmer-focused solutions in Portugal. Working closely with cross-functional teams, he helps align digital technologies with agronomic and business needs.

Pedro holds a master’s degree in Agronomic Engineering and a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior de Agronomia. He began his career in scientific research, specialising in grapevine trunk diseases and contributing to viticulture research projects for more than 12 years. Since joining BASF Portuguesa in 2022, he has combined his scientific expertise and interest in technology to deliver practical digital solutions for Portuguese farmers.

Get in contact with our guests & experts