Umbria 'capital' of the agricultural supply chain
Agriumbria 2023 was held from 31 March to 3 April at the Umbria Fiere exhibition centre, attended by 430 exhibitors on a net area of 30 thousand square metres, with the participation of over 85 thousand visitors. At the heart of the event were products and services for the entire agricultural supply chain, including a wide range of mechanical means and equipment
On 31 March in Bastia Umbra (PG), a large institutional parterre inaugurated the 54th edition of Agriumbria, the exhibition dedicated to agriculture, food, and zootechnics, which kicked off the spring fairs dedicated to the primary sector. The inaugural ceremony was attended, among others, by the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida; the Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Marina Elvira Calderone; the President of the Umbria Region, Donatella Tesei; and the Mayor of Bastia Umbra, Paola Lungarotti.
The livestock space - organised in cooperation with the Italian Breeders Association - is increasingly central, with morphological evaluation competitions and rings featuring beef and dairy cattle breeds. In detail, there will be the Anabic national shows for Chianina and Romagnola and Anacli for Charolais and Limousine, and for sheep the second national Sarda breed rams competition. Also on show will be local breeders of Italian Friesian, Anasb with Italian Mediterranean Buffalo, and Anci with rabbit species and the Association of Breeders Umbria and Marche-AAUM with local horse and donkey breeds.
All the major brands of machinery and equipment for various agricultural processes were present directly or through their dealers in pavilions 7, 8, 9, 11 and in the outdoor areas. FederUnacoma took part in the event with an institutional stand and a press conference on the first day of the event, during which the next edition of Agrilevante - Nuova Fiera del Levante, 5/8 October - and the latest available data on the trend in Italian agricultural mechanisation were presented, with exports up by 14.6% in 2022 and a 3% drop in tractor sales in the first two months of 2023. A dense programme of meetings was a corollary to the exhibition with more than 40 appointments dedicated - among other topics - to animal welfare, digital farming, biodiversity, water resources, innovation, energy, quality production and multifunctionality. The various hosted initiatives included the 'House of rural development' organised by the Agriculture Department of the Umbria Region to present, in the 'Dialogues with the institutions' agora, the new RDP 2023-2027 planning document and present the first open calls for proposals financed. Also on the first day of the event, awards were handed out for the fifth edition of the Antonio Ricci Award - agronomist, journalist and for many years promoter of the Perugia exhibition - promoted by Umbriafiere with the Department of Agriculture of the University of Perugia and the Edagricole publishing house. The award included two different sections, the journalistic section with the awarding of Angelo Frascarelli - university lecturer, agricultural populariser and currently Ismea president - and the academic section with the awarding of Chiara Traini for her thesis at the University of Perugia on mapping hazelnut tree canopies. Stefano Ansideri, from May 2022 at the presidency of the Umbrian trade fair body and therefore at his first Agriumbria in his new role, continues his work with the entire board of the body for the redesign of the trade fair area, and its redevelopment for renewed functionality.
