This year's theme focuses on untapped potential within Africa's agricultural sector. (Image source: AAII)

The seventh edition of the Africa Agri Investment Indaba gets ready to kick off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 18-20 November in Cape Town, South Africa 

Serving as a platform for investors, policymakers, and agribusiness leaders, the event brings together stakeholders from the agricultural sector and investment community to discuss investment opportunities within Africa's agricultural sector. The seventh edition continues the event's focus on economic development and food security in Africa through investments and collaborations.

This year's theme, 'Achieving Extraordinary Growth,' aims to inspire strategies that expand productivity and profitability while ensuring sustainability and inclusivity. Discussions will explore new frontiers in agricultural development including economic growth; food security; employment opportunities; technological advancement; capacity building and technical assistance; market development and access as well as innovation and technology adoption. These planned discussions at AAII24 are important for stimulating growth, focusing on expanding productivity, embracing technology, and promoting sustainability and inclusivity.

For more information, visit: https://www.agri-indaba.com/

The Call for Papers and Cases allows researchers, practitioners and companies to submit contributions and case studies to the IAIC. (Image source: DLG)

Organised by the International Association for Agricultural Sustainability (IAAS), this year's International Agriculture Innovation Conference (IAIC 2024) which is partnered by the German Agricultural Society (DLG) will be taking place on 10 June 2024 at the DLG's headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany

The conference titled: 'Advancing Sustainable Agriculture through Innovation,' will be uniting leading global experts, practitioners and stakeholders from the agribusiness sector who will discuss the future of agriculture, including ways to achieve the global goals of food security, poverty reduction and climate protection. It will also include a practical excursion programme to selected industry partners on 11 and 12 June. 

Moreover, the Call for Papers and Cases for the conference is now open, allowing researchers, practitioners and companies to submit contributions and case studies to the IAIC. With a focus on sustainable developments, the technical scope of eligible contributions covers a wide range of topics relating to the agricultural value chain, from plant and animal production to packaging and legal issues. The deadline for submissions in 20 May 2024.

Further details on the broad range of topics in the field of sustainable agriculture and the procedure for submitting papers can be found at:https://iaic.iaas.org.sg/author-guide.

As part of Macfrut's internationalisation efforts, around 50 presentations were held around the world. (Image source: Macfrut)

The 41st edition of Macfrut 2024 is all set to welcome the global fruit and vegetable supply chain at the Rimini Expo Centre, from 8-10 May this year

The focus is on the fruit and vegetable supply chain, a strategic sector of the Italian agri-food industry. According to the Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market (ISMEA), the production of fruits and vegetables in 2023 was estimated at around 24 million tonnes, on an area of around 1.3 million ha involving 300,000 farms. In terms of consumption, the ISMEA data also shows a decline in bulk purchases of citrus fruits, potatoes and fresh-cut salads. Sales of fruits on the other hand, remained stable while sales of vegetables increased by 1%. 

This year, the international focus will be on the Arabian Peninsula, where an initiative launched three years ago will see the participation of around 100 buyers from the region, mainly interested in apples, kiwis and table grapes. Also from the Arabian Peninsula, Emirates SkyCargo will be attending the trade fair with around 100 buyers to highlight the opportunities for business in the region as a logistics hub.

Moreover, Macfrut's focus on Africa along with the implementation of the 'Mattei Plan' has resulted the trade fair to become increasingly strategic in the government’s international policy. This year's fair will also have a pavilion dedicated to the African continent and will host 400 exhibitors from 24 African countries, mainly growers, but also importers of agricultural technology and technical products for agriculture. Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Namibia and Togo will be taking part for the first time. Larger exhibitors include Egypt, Algeria, South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Mali with 37 companies. Along with exhibitors and wholesalers from South America and Spain, 50 top buyers from India will also be attending the event as one of the new participants.  

As part of Macfrut's internationalisation efforts, around 50 presentations were held around the world, both in person and via streaming, made possible with the support of ICE - Italian Trade Agency. Apulia, famous for its excellent fruits and vegetables will also be taking centre stage this year, by being the partner region of Macfrut. With a focus on certified fruits and vegetables, the region will have a major presence at the trade fair, promoting Apulia’s agri-food products through conferences, events, and tastings, and showcasing itself on the international stage.  

Themed exhibitions at the event will include the Macfrut Table Grape Symposium, the world’s leading symposium that will bring together major experts and global players during the three days of the trade fair to take stock of research, market trends, production performance, product innovation and business strategies. In addition, two new exhibitions are planned: the Innovation Hub for Healthy Food, dedicated to sustainable products and processing technologies for the production of foods with high nutritional value, and the Agrisolar Systems & Technologies, showcasing the opportunities offered by photovoltaic energy generation to support agricultural production. There is also the Biosolutions International Event with around 60 exhibitors, making Macfrut the leading event in Europe for natural plant protection, nutrition and biostimulation products.

On the same days as Macfrut, the Africa & Mediterranean Poultry Forum, an international event for the poultry industry will also take place, providing attendees an opportunity to take an in-depth look at the poultry industry and to discuss with institutions and stakeholders how to systematically improve networking throughout the supply chain.

For more information, visit: www.macfrut.com

Dick van Raamsdonk at IFTEX 2023. (Image source: FloralDaily)

This year's edition of IFTEX taking place from 4-6 June in Nairobi, Kenya is expected to be bigger, with the exhibition area being expanded with a large temporary accommodation outdoors

Stricter European requirements for the import of Kenyan flowers have significantly challenged Kenyan growers, who have expressed worries about the consequences it will have for their growth and position in this market. This is where exhibitions like IFTEX come in, by helping them to not only discover other types of flowers, but also discover new markets and lead to more trade. The exhibition is therefore ideal for anyone who is genuinely interested in learning more about the Kenyan flower market.

Competition from the Chinese flower sector coupled with decreased flower consumption in certain markets, along with a change in stance towards flowers by the younger generations, emphasise the importance to take the opportunity to address the floriculture Industry being a sustainable industry. The entire market for cut flowers—from producing to selling—is influenced by various developments including sustainability, with IFTEX being a part of the entire production and marketing chain. 

The fair is getting bigger this year, with the exhibition area undergoing expansion with a large temporary accommodation outdoors. According to the general director of HPP Exhibitions, Dick van Raamsdonk, current developments are not the reason for the increasing number of growers at the fair. “The fair’s growth is mainly due to the increasing number of exhibiting growers. We are happy to see this development as it reconfirms that the IFTEX is a true grower-buyer show," Van Raamsdonk said. "It has always been our goal to bring buyers and suppliers of flowers together. Everything around it is also important, but ultimately, it’s about buying and selling cut flowers.”

For more information, visit: www.iftex.org