Foggia, innovation and training in the frontline
The territory of Capitanata in Puglia hosts the 69th edition of the Foggia Agricultural Fair, with its 150 exhibitors, an area of 20 thousand square meters and 70 thousand visitors expected. Focus on farmyard animals and cattle breeding The Italian agricultural-mechanical chain led by FederUnacoma has promoted many activities including conventions, 4.0 Agriculture, and tractor licences
A total area of 20 thousand square meters welcomes the 69th edition of the International Fair of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of Foggia, scheduled in the city’s exhibition center from April 28th to May 1st. 150 exhibitors are expected to cover all the categories items of the different activities in the primary sector - machinery, spare parts, accessories, products, and services - on display for an expected audience of 70 thousand visitors. Pavilion 71 welcomes the agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturers that are also present in the wide contiguous external squares, which occupy an area of about 8 thousand square meters. A wide space is dedicated to farms with two stalls for a total of 2,500 square meters, reserved for various types of cattle, and a sidelong hall, Cunavisud, dedicated to rabbits and poultry breeds. The hall features a thousand square pavilion reserved for all farmyard animals and a competition that rewards the best specimen of each category presented. In a nearby space of 2,500 square meters, there are systems and equipment for the various types of breeding. Among the institutional presences there are the Puglia Region - which proposes initiatives and thematic meetings in the sector - and among others, the Gargano National Park the Regional Agency for Irrigation and Forestry Activities, and the associations for the Reclamation of the Capitanata and Montana in the Gargano. FederUnacoma participates in the event in a multilateral way together with Unacma (National Union of Agricultural Machinery Traders), CAI (Italian Agromechanical Coordination) and Ancors (National Association of Consultants and Officers for Security at Work) set out a series of activities whose main theme is the technological solutions for agricultural activities. In a common area at the entrance of the Foggia exhibition center, in pavilion 71, a stand is set up to accommodate the offices of various institutions and the spaces for the different initiatives. These include a “path” of information panels on 4.0 Agriculture technologies that ends in an information space by Italdron on the use of drones in agriculture. Still, here we find Mech@agriJobs the professional training format promoted by Unacma that for several years has brought in the most suitable contexts - with great results in terms of participation and attention - guidance sessions on the agricultural machinery for students of the last two years of technical and professional agricultural, mechanical and electronic institutes. And still training for the insiders brought by Ancors with free daily courses for tractor license and other daily courses at low fares for professional use of brushcutters and chainsaws. It is possible to register for courses directly at the fair. Several conferences are planned including a meeting dedicated to Smart Farming, ie the latest generation technologies applied to agriculture (see Internet of the Things and Artificial Intelligence), scheduled for Saturday afternoon, April 28. And then two moments of deepening on the Mother Regulation - the only normative reference on the issue of homologation of tractors, trailers and interchangeable towed equipment in force since the 1st of January of this year - and on the implications for the market of Stage V tractors, the European emission reduction regulations, both scheduled for the afternoon of Monday 30 April. These are the latest data available on the tractors market in Puglia (source FederUnacoma). In 2017, following the national trend, the year ended with an increase of 34% with 1,743 new registrations (512 in the province of Foggia). Slight growth in the first quarter of 2018 with a + 1.4% (down instead of 2.2% at national level) with 360 new tractors (83 in the province of Foggia). Trade fairs in this sector such as Foggia, and like many others on the Italian schedule, are a valuable driving force to raise awareness of the technologies available for modern and safe agriculture and also to spread information on all the financial instruments available - as for for example the RDPs - to support a full renewal of the national agricultural machinery sector.
