Agrilevante, the agricultural technology exhibition

Agrilevante is the place for technologies but also the place for ideas and projects. This was the message that the General Manager of FederUnacoma, Simona Rapastella, launched today at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Bari when presenting the seventh edition of Agrilevante, the biennial exhibition of machinery and technology for agriculture in the Mediterranean area. The event - organised by FederUnacoma in partnership with the Fiera del Levante, with the support of the Puglia Region's Agriculture Department, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Bari and AIA-ARA Puglia, the universities of Bari and Foggia, and the Ciheam of Bari itself - is a major workshop for the development of the primary economy. Businesspeople and farmers from Mediterranean Europe, the Balkan countries, the Middle East, as well as North and sub-Saharan Africa, will be in Bari - from 5 to 8 October next, in the halls of the exhibition centre - to learn about the most advanced technologies for arable crops, animal husbandry, fruit growing, and above all viticulture and olive growing, but also to investigate the most topical political and economic issues and the development models that are envisaged for this vast region.

The technical depth of the exhibition is underlined not only by the presence at the show of all the best mechanical production for agriculture and gardening, and by the sections specifically dedicated to robotics and the most advanced electronic systems, but also by the FederUnacoma competition for new products with high technological content. "The competition," noted Rapastella during the presentation, "rewards as Technical Innovations those models, selected by a jury of experts, that introduce completely new solutions or improve already existing technologies, combining production efficiency with environmental sustainability and safety at work".

The exhibition is structured to cover not only traditional agricultural sectors, but also the livestock sector. This includes specific technologies for livestock breeding and a large area housing hundreds of valuable cattle, horses, sheep, goats and poultry. Together with the New Hall - it was explained at the conference - Halls 19 and 20 will be utilized, while specific open-air areas will be dedicated to digital and robotic technologies and to the trials of the "Contoterzista Driver Trophy" competition promoted by Edagricole. The programme of conventions, meetings, and workshops, organised in cooperation with the University of Bari and Foggia, the Ciheam of Bari, and agricultural and agro-mechanical publishers, is expected to be very rich. Among the meetings with a technical content, those dedicated to olive growing, typical Apulian crops, innovative crops for southern regions, and 4.0 applications specific to Mediterranean crops are already on the calendar.  In terms of policies for the sector, meetings have already been scheduled dedicated to the new CAP, NRRP and RDP funding, and education and training, with the aim of identifying new professional profiles and new paths for agriculture and mechanisation.

"All this in a setting with a strong international character," said Rapastella again, "where great importance will be given to the new structure reserved for official foreign delegations, located behind the Congress Centre, which will be equipped to support business-to-business meetings organised by FederUnacoma in collaboration with the ICE Agency". "Businesspeople are expected from more than 60 countries," concluded the FederUnacoma General Manager, "while no fewer than 35 will be official delegations".