Made in Italy, FederUnacoma and the Vespucci Mediterranean Tour - Villaggio IN Italia: synergy for agromechanics

Over the next seven years, the population of the North African and Middle Eastern regions will rapidly increase, reaching 520 million people in 2032. The agricultural economies of the Mediterranean basin presently name food security as their number one objective. They will therefore have to satisfy a growing demand for food and will have to do so by increasing yields, cultivating new lands and reclaiming degraded ones, while also combating climate change, and optimizing water consumption. The solution to these challenges can only come from agricultural mechanization and the response must be a highly technological one.

This was one of the topics discussed during the meeting held yesterday (April 14) aboard the historic ship Amerigo Vespucci, anchored in the port of Brindisi during the sixth stage of the Vespucci Mediterranean Tour - Villaggio IN Italia, between the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, Francesco Lollobrigida and the president of FederUnacoma, Mariateresa Maschio. "Italian agricultural mechanics, a sector of excellence and high innovation, can make a fundamental contribution to the development of the agricultural economies of the basin, increasing productivity, improving the quality of production, and optimizing the use of production factors", said the president of FederUnacoma during the talk moderated by the journalist Gioacchino Bonsignore. "For this to be possible, it is essential that our companies have adequate resources to invest in research and - added Mariateresa Maschio - in the development of solutions specifically designed for the countries in the area". The current economic situation is marked by a decline in the domestic market and turbulence in international markets and risks affecting the ability of Italian agricultural machinery industries to innovate. It is a complicated moment in time, we have to create the conditions necessary to support our companies and help them open new markets, - stated Minister Lollobrigida - yet, without abandoning stakeholder countries, such as the United States, which are of strategic importance for Made in Italy products. Another central issue was that of European incentive tools which, according to the Minister of Agriculture, should be conceived and set out according to the actual needs of each production sector, following clear and defined strategic directions.

In Brindisi, where FederUnacoma was already celebrating its 80th anniversary, the Federation was present both on board the historic Italian ship, and "on land", at the travelling exhibition "Villaggio IN Italia", which is an integral part of the Vespucci Mediterranean Tour, an initiative conceived by the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, sponsored by the Ministry of Defense and 12 other Ministries, to share the international experience of the "World Tour" that for 20 months has brought the culture, history, innovation, gastronomy, science, research, technology and industry that make Italy a universally appreciated nation to 30 different countries. The project is a public-private partnership between Difesa Servizi spa and Ninetynine.

From 12 to 14 April, "Villaggio IN Italia" played host to an institutional stand of the Federation and an exhibition area where some excellent offerings of the agro-mechanical industry were presented. There were true jewels of technology, specifically designed for the vineyard and the orchard, and high added value crops that are in their natural territory in Apulia and other Mediterranean regions.
The initiatives for the 80th anniversary of FederUnacoma, which began in the early afternoon with the meeting between Francesco Lollobrigida and Mariateresa Maschio, continued into the evening with a dinner aboard the Amerigo Vespucci. Attendees included, among others, the Minister of Agriculture, the Undersecretary of Health, Marcello Gemmato, and Paolo Perrone, president of the Board of Directors of the State Institute of Printing and Minting. The event also included an award ceremony for products representative of Apulian excellence and Italian quality, and was organized with the collaboration of Tenuta Pinto, one of the most active and dynamic agricultural companies in the region of Apulian. The quality of the company's crops attests to the contribution mechanical technologies make to the productive excellence of our primary sector.

"The celebrations for our 80th anniversary will continue in the coming months with other events. The partnership with the Vespucci Mediterranean Tour – Villaggio IN Italia has a great symbolic value for the message of excellence – remarked the General Director of FederUnacoma, Simona Rapastella – that the Vespucci brings to the world by promoting Made in Italy products and for the extraordinary attention that it manages to attract in all the countries in which it lands".