Bari play host to the great showcase of Mediterranean agriculture

The eighth edition of Agrilevante, the Mediterranean agricultural technology fair, will be held from October 9th to 12th. More than 5,000 new-generation models presented by 330 manufacturers will be on display. Internationality and innovation are the focus of the event

The trade fair will see over 330 exhibiting companies from Italy and abroad, over 60,000 square meters of exhibition space, more than 5,000 models of machinery and equipment for the cereal, wine, olive, olive oil, fruit and vegetable, livestock, and bioenergy sectors. And there is more: approximately 100,000 visitors are expected, 5,000 of whom are international from 60 countries, 120 delegates representing 35 countries, and 1,200 business-to-business meetings are scheduled at the fair between foreign operators and participating manufacturers. The numbers from the eighth edition of Agrilevante, the major exhibition of agricultural technologies for the Mediterranean, held in Bari from October 9th to 12th, show that the event has established itself as one of the leading events on the international trade fair scene.

The Mediterranean, an increasingly strategic basin. Following the war in Ukraine and the growing geopolitical tensions, combined with the strong protectionist pressures that are reshaping trade relations between the United States and its partners, the Mediterranean basin has seen its strategic importance grow even further, both in terms of trade routes and traffic, and in terms of the production and supply of foodstuffs. In this perspective, the Bari event represents a key event for the entire Mediterranean primary sector. The Bari exhibition, organized by FederUnacoma, is aimed at the agricultural economies of the countries bordering the basin, but is also addressed to those nations (such as Saudi Arabia, Hungary, and Serbia) that, while not strictly speaking belonging to the region, constitute in a certain sense its hinterland. The agricultural systems of all these countries, which obviously refer to specific models, nevertheless share several common features regarding – for example – the crops grown; soil, environmental, and climatic characteristics; and cultivation methods and techniques. Common to these territories are also the critical issues related to the decline in rainfall and the progressive drying out of the soil. At Agrilevante, the focus is on new-generation machinery and equipment capable of meeting every need posed by Mediterranean agriculture. From tractors to construction machines, and equipment to components, on up to gardening and green maintenance machinery, the Apulian event offers its visitors – farmers, contractors, agricultural and agricultural mechanics technicians – next-generation technologies conceived to optimize the use of production factors and increase yields, improving crop sustainability and countering the consequences of climate change.

An even more comprehensive trade fair. Alongside the traditional divisions and the Livestock Show, which is organized in collaboration with ARA Puglia and which features livestock of the most prized breeds on display in the new Extend area. Located near the Italian-Eastern entrance and reserved for institutional bodies, the Extend area will host, among others, the stands of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, and those of the professional agricultural associations. Also new this year is the Levante Green showcase, dedicated to gardening and greenery maintenance machinery, and the adjacent demo area, where it will be possible to see some of the greenery machinery exhibited by the manufacturers inside the pavilion in action. Field tests will also take place in the REAL area dedicated to agricultural robots, which is coming back to Agrilevante after the great interest it attracted at the last edition of the event. Another essential item on the agenda will be found in the international delegations pavilion, where business-to-business meetings between delegates and exhibitors will be held on October 9th and 10th, and which will host the prestigious international assembly of the Club of Bologna on the two days following. For the first time ever the prestigious association of experts and academics from all over the world will be in Bari to assess agricultural mechanization scenarios and suggest an agenda of priorities that will also prove useful for the purposes of planning in political settings.

Next-generation technologies take center stage at Agrilevante. Technological innovation is, as always, the beating heart of the Bari event. Next-generation technologies are the focus not only at the manufacturers' stands, which present their most advanced models at Agrilevante, but also at the prestigious competition that awards the most cutting-edge technical solutions proposed by exhibiting industries, which this year has a completely new look. The traditional "Technical Innovations" award has been renamed "Agrilevante - Machinery for Mediterranean Agriculture" award and divided into two specialized sections: one dedicated to agricultural technologies, the other to machinery and equipment for the care and maintenance of green spaces. The new name was chosen by the FederUnacoma organizers to emphasize the "Mediterranean" nature of the innovations being proposed, thus highlighting the technological solutions best suited to operating in the agricultural context of the basin countries. The nine winning models will be exhibited in the outdoor area between Pavilion 20 and the New Pavilion.