EDP, internationalization is the protagonist of the inaugural day
The opening event of EDP, the first virtual exhibition of agricultural machinery, focused on internationalization and foreign markets. The Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Manlio Di Stefano, noted the importance of exports for Italian agromechanics, while the president of the ICE Agency, Carlo Ferro, focused on the business-to-business meetings scheduled during the event. The commissioner for Agriculture of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Alessio Mammi, instead underlined the importance of EIMA International and EDP for the local economy.
Strategies and tools for the development of international cooperation in the agricultural machinery sector. These are the themes that emerged during the inaugural event that took place this morning in the live area of the EIMA Digital Preview platform, the first virtual exhibition dedicated to machines, equipment and components for agriculture. Agricultural machinery - highlighted Simona Rapastella, general manager of FederUnacoma, the Italian association of manufacturers that organizes the digital exhibition - is the main theme of EIMA DP, but the focus of the event is on innovation in agriculture in the broadest sense. Accordingly, the rich programme of meetings, seminars and online lessons focuses on every area of R&D activities for the primary sector. On the other hand, the challenges of the EU agricultural policy and the need to reconcile productivity and environmental sustainability require increasingly advanced solutions from a technological point of view. This - underlined the president of FederUnacoma, Alessandro Malavolti - is paving the way for a digital revolution, for a transformation in the way we cultivate and an increasingly rational and scientific use of production factors, and for that process that is defined agriculture 4.0. Industries that produce innovation for agriculture - added Malavolti - must operate on a global scale, and to this end, public policies are very important for the internationalization of businesses. In this regard, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Manlio Di Stefano, reiterated the importance of foreign countries for the business of Italian agromechanical companies. In 2019 - Di Stefano noted - 65% of the national production of agricultural machinery, for a value of 5.2 billion euro, was mainly absorbed by the European market (with a share of 60%) and the United States (17%), followed by Asia (6.9%) and Africa (4.6%). Italian companies, stressed undersecretary Di Stefano, must also focus on the latter two markets, which have a great demand for agricultural technologies and provide for public measures to support the industry. The "Pact for Exports" signed last June goes precisely in this direction, since it represents an effective support for Made in Italy products in the world. From an operational point of view, the Pact is structured along six main lines of action, the so-called "six pillars". A system of strategic interventions aimed at strengthening the exhibition sector, strengthening the tools of subsidized finance, attracting buyers and enhancing the communication channels. This strategy fully includes promotional and information campaigns, training interventions - including those relating to the creation of professional roles specialized in digitization (digital manager) - and the enhancement of e-commerce and integrated promotion, which sees the active involvement of Italian diplomatic representations abroad. Also on the subject of internationalization, Carlo Ferro, president of the ICE Agency, mentioned the importance of the collaboration between the agency and FederUnacoma in supporting the internationalization of Italian companies in this sector. The president of the ICE Agency focused in particular on the Fiera Smart 365 platform, which from 9 to 19 November (a longer period of time than the EDP dates) hosts business meetings between exhibiting companies and foreign delegations from 36 countries. Overall, Ferro noted, 156 meetings have already been scheduled with the participation of 250 foreign businesspeople. However, these are not the only initiatives promoted by ICE, which also organized four country focus webinars dedicated to certain markets - the United States, Australia, India and Mexico - which are today among the most strategic for agricultural machinery. Speaking of the tools for the enhancement of the agromechanical sector, Alessio Mammi, Commissioner for Agriculture of the Emilia-Romagna Region, underlined the leading role played by EIMA International and the virtual edition EDP. Its promotional role unfolds both at a global level, thanks to the large presence of foreign delegations that has always characterized the physical exhibition (and today also the virtual one), and at the local level. Emilia-Romagna - the commissioner pointed out - has a great tradition in the production of technologies for agriculture and is one of the Italian regions that contributes most to agricultural machinery exports. EIMA, commented Mammi, is a great opportunity for our Region, an appointment of excellence in the exhibition landscape, a place of value not only from an economic point of view, but also from a cultural point of view, a place solid human relationships can be built.
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