An increasingly international Fieragricola
The overarching theme of the biennial exhibition Veronafiere will be digital agriculture and innovation in agricultural machinery. The objective of the fair, held in the Veneto region, is the development of precision agriculture, which is one of the main challenges of our system. Its international status is strengthened by the presence of operators from four continents
The immense opportunities of digital agriculture. This will be the overarching theme of the four day event (January 31 - February 3) and of all the initiatives scheduled for the 113th edition of Fieragricola, the agricultural fair trade in Verona - managed by the region’s trade fair organization in collaboration with FederUnacoma, the Italian National Manufacturers Federation - which envisages an increasingly digital future for farmers, breeders, technicians, distributors, teachers and students of agrarian schools. These are the actors Giovanni Mantovani, director general of Veronafiere, has invited to take part in the biennial international fair entirely dedicated to the agricultural sector and always in step with the times.
“Agriculture is increasingly oriented toward innovations that are technologically advanced and connected to internet, in line with a 4.0 Agriculture model that Italy has rightly embraced. Much is yet to be done, one need only consider that digital economy still amounts to only the 22% of the global GDP, while in Italy it is only 18%, against the 33% of the United States. In the future of rural development, thanks to the incentives of the European Union for the diffusion of broadband, digitalization will play an increasingly important role. In this perspective Fieragricola wishes to address an issue that is fundamental in the increase of competitiveness of the Made in Italy agri-food sector, and at the same time to facilitate the achievement of the goals set by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies (MIPAAF), which intends to take precision agriculture to a 10% of the utilized agricultural area by 2021.” This theme no way runs counter to the ambition of Veronafiere: that of becoming, thanks to Fieragricola, point of reference for agriculture of the entire Mediterranean area, of Africa and of other continents; indeed it supports it.
“The Verona trade fair, in fact, intends to strengthen international relations, and will host exhibiting firms, buyers and visitors not only from Italy, but from many countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, where there is significant demand for technological innovation in the agricultural sector. The selected countries are: for Europe, Austria, Germany, Moldavia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary and the The Balkan States; for Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa and Tunisia; for Asia, South Korea, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam; for South America, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.” Mantovani went on to say that Fieragricola, which always pays great attention also to modernization of Italian agriculture, “is relaunching its role in bringing together knowledge and skills that are valuable in the planning of national agricultural policies, in line with the recent PAC reform which grants greater freedom to member states that, in the implementation of Community principles, take into account the specific requirements of their territories.” The 113th edition of Fieragricola marks its 120th anniversary (the trade fair started in 1898), and is a continuation of the process of renewal of the fair by dedicating more space to the specialisations of the agricultural sector: mechanics, vineyards and orchards, zootechnics, renewable energy, multifunctionality, the management of greenery and forestry activities, plant treatment products and fertilizer. Moreover, the Fieragricola format provides for joining of two specialized vertical events: Eurocarne, a salon focused on meat and the livestock supply chain, and the Fruit & Veg Innovation, the vertical nature of the fruit and Vegetable supply chain. Another interesting new feature will be the debut of an area dedicated to olive cultivations with a workshop and specific conference on the sector.
In the meantime, Fieragricola is looking to the future because the European Federation of the Bruna Breed has selected the most important agricultural event in Italy as the site for the 2020 meeting of the European Nations. Mantovani commented, “For Fieragricola this will be an honor of hosting the European show of a dairy cattle breed focused on Fieragricola, the Italian review which guarantees the most open international dialogue. Already this year we are preparing to be ready for the best in 2020.”
