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EIMA M.i.A., new frontiers in agriculture

The exhibition area dedicated to multi-functional farming has been set up as an interactive review complementary to the green environment. The purpose is to enhance the value of the sector which accounts for 8% of agricultural production and has changed the organization features of farming enterprises

by Giovanni M. Losavio
July - August - September 2016 | Back

 

The exhibition area dedicated to multi-functional farming has been set up as an interactive review complementary to the green environment. The purpose is to enhance the value of the sector which accounts for 8.1% of agricultural production and has changed the organization features of farming enterprises.

The EIMA M.i.A. Salon on multi-functional agriculture, one of the appointments most looked forward to in EIMA International, will be presented for the upcoming edition of the Bologna exposition in the new Palazzo dei Congressi location in new garments.

The exhibition covering multi-functional farming has, in fact, been created as an interactive review complementary to the green environment for heightening the value and promoting the capability of agricultural enterprises diversifying their activities.

These range from food and caring for the land to the production of renewable energy resources, green architecture and on to protecting biodiversity in light of the fact that in an increasingly interconnected and complex society the primary sector has become a point of contact and balance among settings for activities which were once separated. Farms responsible for the management of more than eighteen million hectares can thus discover new opportunities in these areas, revise their future roles, weigh various options and invade new markets.

Moreover, according to the National Statistics Institute, ISTAT,  multi-functional operations account for a significant 8% of production in the sector, a share which has shown substantial growth over the past decade. It must be pointed out that over time past the farming sector has lost considerable ground by losing 0.5% of value added annually from 2000 to 2010 and has experienced bouts of instability influenced by the results of climate change.

On the other hand, there has been a positive trend running counter to these conditions which involve multi-functional activities. In a 2016 document ISTAT reported, "The census of agriculture in 2010 showed a significant change in the production sector and the organizational arrangements of farms. The development of activities which increase the multi-functional role of farming enterprises  under the agro-environmental heading and safeguarding the landscape form a strategy for the growth of profitability by bringing in some supply chain avenues for retaining part of the value added by support and secondary activities."

In summary, there is a minimum common denominator among many sectors which only appear separated but are actually all interconnected.

This is the reason why the EIMA M.i.A. Salon has been planned at a Shared Green, that is, focused on agriculture as an interdisciplinary point of contact for discovering technologies, materials, innovations capable of addressing nature in its many forms and border areas of cities and farmlands and landscapes in ongoing transformation.

This setting is a place for taking part in research and where innovations can be seen as the instruments most suitable for coping with complicated problems which encompass the vast ranges of research and activities focused on production issues, problems involving agricultural machinery, transport and the processing and use of food products.

Another key point in the multi-functional salon is the Materials Village, a platform to host events and initiatives aimed at promoting materials industries in an outstanding international setting.

The curator of the village is Material ConneXion Italia, a multinational consulting firm on innovations and sustainability of materials, which has come up with an innovative and original format based on a village of materials to present companies with opportunities for the exhibition of their products in iconic homes with captivating designs which can be totally personalized. Taking shape inside these homes are the ideal trends for the agriculture of tomorrow. 

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