Based on an emphatic response for participation, FederUnacoma has announced the expansion of exhibition grounds to accommodate a grand display of high quality equipment at EIMA International 2026, an influential agricultural machinery trade show in Bologna

Set to be held from 10-14 November, more than 60,000 models of machinery and technologies are estimated to be on display. “EIMA brings together much of the technical, economic and relationship-building work carried out by the Federation, all aimed at fostering cooperation among countries,” said general manager, Simona Rapastella. 

FederUnacoma has received confirmation from 1,800 exhibiting companies till date (with more than 100 still on the waiting list). This means the exhibition grounds will be full to maximum capacity (with over 60,000 models of machinery and technologies on display). Visitors from 150 countries are expected, while official ICE delegations from 90 countries have been confirmed, in addition to those of Italian and European parliamentarians; the area known as “Extend” will also host government institutions and representatives of the agri-food sector.

“This year, the fair will have an even more impressive visual impact,” added Rapastella, “given the quality of the booth design proposals that exhibiting companies are sending to our organising staff."

According to FederUnacoma -- which provides trade show management training through its AFI Academy -- trade shows and exhibitions play a major role in advancing the agricultural machinery industry. This belief is also backed by statistical and economic surveys from the Manufacturers’ Federation, a co-organiser of EIMA. In collaboration with the University of Bologna and the Italian trade agency ICE, the Federation has developed specific training programmes for member companies to prepare them for trade shows. These will train in leveraging trade shows as venues for communication and networking, promote awareness in trade show marketing, and advanced stand design methodologies, among other things.

“The trade show optimises marketing efforts, curates technologies, highlights new trends, and builds relationships of trust among industry professionals from around the world,” said Rapastella, “and this is invaluable at a historic moment when protectionism and geopolitical tensions are holding back the sector.” “But above all,” she added, “the EIMA exhibition bridges the gap between countries and fosters all forms of cooperation, from commercial and industrial collaboration to scientific and technological research.”

Livestock production has remained a challenge for decades in Senegal’s Niayes region owing to the trypanosomosis-carrying tsetse flies, with infection rates at 28% affecting both income and food generation 

These pests severely harm cattle productivity, leaving farmers with no choice but to go with low-yield, disease-tolerant breeds. To get rid of the deadly swarm of tsetses, the Government of Senegal launched a long-term campaign with support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.

Ongoing for over a decade now, the programme has started showing positive changes with a 99% reduction in tsetse populations in the Niayes. The initiative was carried out in partnership with Senegalese institutions, namely the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), and national veterinary services, as well as the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), France. Additional financial support was provided to the United States of America and France through IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative.

Following more than ten years of sustained field activities, two socio-economic impact assessments were conducted, one with the support from FAO and the other from CIRAD, to evaluate how livestock systems and rural livelihoods had changed in the absence of the tsetse fly. The studies were carried out by agro-economists from the Bureau d’Analyses Macro-Économiques (BAME) at ISRA, alongside social scientists and entomologists from CIRAD.

“The assessments provide clear evidence that vector suppression has transformed livestock production systems in the Niayes region, with significant improvements in productivity, income and animal health. Sustaining these achievements will be critical, but the results already show how strategic investments and partnerships can drive long-term change in Senegal’s livestock sector,” said Adji Maréme Gaye, Epidemiologist at the FAO office in Senegal.

With trypanosomosis under control, farmers rapidly adapted their practices. Whereas previously only trypanotolerant local breeds could survive, the absence of the disease enabled the introduction of higher-yield dairy and meat cattle.

Before the intervention, exotic breeds accounted for just 1.5% of herds. Today, they represent more than 27% in some farming systems. At the same time, herd sizes have decreased by up to 49%, reflecting a shift towards more efficient and market-oriented production systems that place less pressure on land and natural resources.

Modern dairy farming has expanded rapidly in parallel. Since 2017, 904 modern dairy farms have been established in the Niayes region, representing nearly three-quarters of such operations nationwide.

This transformation has been accompanied by dramatic gains in productivity, with milk sales in some systems increasing from just 157 litres to over 2,100 litres per cow annually, driven by the growing presence of higher-yield exotic breeds.

“Conventional vector control could suppress tsetse populations, but it was the sterile insect technique that allowed Senegal to push past suppression toward eradication, breaking the cycle of reinfestation for good,” said Chantel De Beer, Technical Officer at the Insect Pest Control Laboratory of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre. “The Niayes campaign shows that with sustained investment and partnership, eradication isn't just a technical possibility, but it is an achievable outcome that transforms entire livestock economies, from household income to herd health to the dairy sector itself.”

Africa, especially the eastern and southern regions, where the agricultural sector is central for food and nutrition security, economic development, and rural livelihoods, subsidies and broader public support policies are critical to building resilient, inclusive food systems to advance sustainable development objectives 

Input subsidy programmes, including inorganic fertiliser and maize seed, eat up most of the public investments, however. It should rather be channelised towards broader policy interventions that cover extension and research and development. 

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has released a report titled 'From Subsidies to Sustainability', trying to identify the best conditions for reforming public support to agriculture improve productivity, equity and environmental sustainability outcomes in Eastern and Southern Africa? It takes note of public support and reform experiences in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia, exploring how different subsidy models have influenced development outcomes and identifying lessons learned from these experiences.

Kenya, for example, can rely on centralised subsidy programmes for prompt stabilisation of input prices in cases of market volatilities, but affect longer-term progress on equity and sustainability goals.

In Malawi, sustained long-term efforts in the way of soil health pilots can transform agriculture and food systems to grow resilient but may come at the cost of temporary reductions in yields.

Subsidies are more than just input price reductions, going beyond affordability to also include equitable access. Access inequality marked many African countries, where the poorest and most marginalised farmers get left out of available schemes. While reforms have the power to cut down the costs of agricultural inputs, it cannot guarantee equal access unless distribution points are identified strategically to ensure uniform supply.

Arranging awareness programmes also play a significant role in expanding the reach of subsidies and support schemes. The effectiveness of subsidies also depends on soil health. Investments to boost the quality of degraded soils can ensure better results from fertilisers. Regional policy frameworks, such as the African Fertiliser and Soil Health Plan (2024–2034) are increasingly identifying the bridges that connect soil health and yields, as part of integrated soil health management and improved soil health for sustainable productivity growth.

Early findings from Malawi’s soil health pilots, corroborated by results from soil health pilots in India, points towards the need for organic and blended organic-inorganic inputs over inorganic fertilisers alongside support for soil management to increase yields.

Reforms and their impact are influenced by a combination of fiscal pressure, broader policies and local conditions for farmers. Price shocks in Kenya, debt reform in Zambia, and foreign exchange constraints in Malawi all played a role in creating space and political will for reform. The outcomes of these reforms depended on tenure security, access to extension services, the quality of inputs, access to finance, and markets for agricultural produce.

When it comes to securing farmer's interests, judicial oversight ensured by the South African High Court's Uniform Rule 46A acts as a safeguard against arbitrary security enforcement by a lender

With Rule 46A applicable, lenders now need to consider the use and characteristics of the property rather than just ownership structure. Agricultural lending thus comes with lots of associated factors when mixed-use character and on-site residential accommodation are involved. On the lender's part, these circumstances calls for appropriate engagement with affected parties.

Trust-owned properties too fall under the purview of Rule 46A, requiring consideration of the possibilities or outcomes of juristic ownership. In cases where even though the property may apparently seem commercial, Rule 46A can apply if it includes residential occupation.

There have been cases, however, when Rule 46A fell short of application. In the case of Bestbier and Others versus Nedbank Limited which involved dispute over an immovable property owned by the Goede Hoop Trust, neither the trustees nor the farmworkers could benefit from the protection of the rule – the trustees because they had consented to judgment and were not at risk of homelessness, and the farmworkers because their tenure was independently protected by the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997. The property operated as a wine farm while also housing trustees and farmworkers with families.